10th Symposium on HIV, Law, and Human Rights - HIV criminalization: Challenging injustice in Canada and around the world

The HIV Legal Network is hosting its 10th Symposium on HIV, Law, and Human Rights! Join us March 22nd, 2022, for HIV Criminalization: Challenging Injustice in Canada and Around the World. This virtual event will bring together people living with HIV, policymakers, legal and health professionals, along with activists and allies for a discussion about HIV and human rights.

Together, we will explore the evolution of the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure in Canada and trends in prosecutions, including disproportionate impacts on Black and Indigenous people; litigation related to condom use, HIV, and sexual assault law; and global movements and advocacy to limit HIV criminalization around the world.

This event will be free of charge for all attendees. The complete speaker list and agenda will be shared as soon as it is finalized. Watch this page for updates!

AGENDA

1:00 – 1:10 Welcome and Land Acknowledgement

1:10 – 1:35 Keynote address: TBD

1:35 – 2:30 Where are we now?

Moderator & state of the law: Richard Elliott

• Key trends report – Colin Hastings (Concordia University) and Notisha Massaquoi (University of Toronto)

• Sex offender registration research – Liam Michaud (York University)

• CCRHC consultations and update – India Annamanthadoo (HIV Legal Network) and Léa Pelletier-Marcotte (COCQ-SIDA)

• FILM CLIP: Positive Women 10 years later

• Q&A

2:30 – 2:40 Intermission

2:40 – 3:15 Minimizing Harm: Litigation

Moderator: Shakir Rahim, lawyer and Legal Network board member

• A conversation on R. v. Kirkpatrick between Khalid Janmohamed (Director, Legal Clinic Programs at Lincoln Alexander School of Law, X University, former litigation director at HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario) and Isabel Grant (Professor and Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, Peter Allard School of Law, UBC)

• Q&A

3:15 – 3:50 HIV Justice Worldwide – global movements to limit HIV criminalization

Moderator: Edwin Bernard, HIV Justice Network

• Screen short video on molecular HIV surveillance

• Cécile Kazatchkine (HIV Legal Network) – work in francophone Africa and beyond

• Mikhail Golichenko (HIV Legal Network) – work in EECA

• Q&A with the participation of Alex McClelland (Carleton University)

3:50– 4:00 Closing and thanks

Production of this event has been made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

You can read about our most recent symposia here and here.