The Law, Policy and Ethics (LPE) Core at CIRA formed the Criminalization of HIV Transmission and Exposure Working Group in July 2010. The purposes of this multidisciplinary collaboration of policy makers, advocates, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders are to examine critical public health, ethical, and legal issues around HIV criminalization, discuss the ethical and public health implications of the criminal law, and to develop research questions pertaining to criminalization of HIV exposure and transmission.
This ongoing working group is moderated by the LPE Core Director (Dr. Robert J. Levine). The following is the list of currently active working group members:
- Aziza Ahmed, M.S., J.D. - Northeastern University School of Law
- Scott Burris, J.D. - Temple University, Beasley School of Law
- Mandeep Dhaliwal, M.D. - Global Commission on HIV and the Law, United Nations Development Programme
- E. Jennifer Edelman, M.D. - Yale School of Medicine
- Anna Forbes, M.S.S. - Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP)
- Carol Galletly, J.D., Ph.D. - Center for AIDS Intervention Research (CAIR), Medical College of Wisconsin
- Catherine Hanssens, J.D. - Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP)
- Dini Harsono, M.Sc. - CIRA, Yale University
- Kaveh Khoshnood, Ph.D., M.P.H. - Yale School of Public Health
- David LaBahn - Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
- Shawn Lang, B.A. - Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition
- Stephen Latham, J.D., Ph.D. - Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics
- Zita Lazzarini, J.D., M.P.H. - University of Connecticut Medical School
- Robert J. Levine, M.D. - Yale School of Medicine
- Leif Mitchell, B.A. - CIRA Yale University
- Eric Mykhalovskiy, Ph.D. - Department of Sociology, York University, Toronto
- Elaine O'Keefe, M.S. - CIRA, Yale University
- Wilson Palacios, Ph.D. - Department of Criminology, University of South Florida
- Steven Pinkerton, Ph.D. - Center for AIDS Intervention Research (CAIR), Medical College of Wisconsin
- Willi Rechler - Yale University
- Merrill Singer, Ph.D. - Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention (CHIP), University of Connecticut
- Hannah Slater - Yale Global Health Initiative (GHI), Yale University
- Kristen Underhill, J.D., Ph.D. - Yale Law School
The working group and the LPE Core hosted a Research Agenda Setting Work Session in New Haven, Connecticut, on November 3 and 4, 2011. The work session aimed to articulate a research agenda around HIV criminalization drawing on the expertise of relevant stakeholders. The work session was successful and well-attended with participation from academic research community, HIV/AIDS advocacy, public health, and criminal justice/legal sectors.
Following the November 2011 work session, the working group continues to convene regularly and seeks to pursue several initiatives:
- Publishing a systematic review of empirical studies on criminalization
- Maintaining a working annotated bibliography that provides an overview of literature on ethical, policy, legal, and public health issues relating to criminalization
- Developing an issues brief focused on the implementation of HIV disclosure criminal laws in the United States
- Outlining a research proposal targeting knowledge gaps and critical research questions relevant to criminalization of HIV non-disclosure
- Disseminating a summary of the work session report/proceedings
- Developing prosecutorial guidelines and training
- Planning for a second work session in the spring of 2012.
For more information on the Criminalization of HIV Transmission and Exposure Working Group, please contact Dini Harsono at dini.harsono@yale.edu.
