Law Times

Page 12 June 4, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com 'It's a chronic, manageable disease' HIV lawyers help fight stigma BY MICHAEL MCKIERNAN For Law Times I f the law and societal attitudes to HIV had advanced as fast as the science associated with the virus, Ryan Peck might well be out of a job. "In the 1980s, an HIV di- agnosis was understood to be a death sentence, and you had people dying left, right and cen- tre here in Canada and in the U.S.," says Peck, executive direc- tor of the HIV and AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, which is devoted to providing free legal services to people living with the virus. By the time Peck joined HALCO in 2001 as an articling student, researchers had devel- oped a firm grip on their under- standing of the virus, and pro- gress has only accelerated since then. "Antiretroviral therapy has completely transformed the face of HIV," Peck says. "It's a chron- ic, manageable disease, akin to something like diabetes; as long as you're taking your medica- tion every day and looking after yourself, you can lead a pretty happy, normal, healthy life." Unfortunately, he says, pub- lic opinion on the subject has evolved on a considerably slower scale, creating a host of legal is- sues for HIV-positive individu- als and providing plenty of work for HALCO. "What is still the hallmark of an HIV diagnosis is the very real stigma and accompanying discrimination," he says, noting that a 2012 attitudinal track- ing survey conducted for Pub- lic Health Canada found that 15 per cent of respondents feel afraid of people living with HIV/ AIDS and 24 per cent would feel uncomfortable putting on a sweater once worn by someone with the virus. More than half of HALCO's governing board lives with HIV, and Peck says he has been in- spired by the advocacy of that community during his entire tenure at the clinic. "From the beginning, it's those people, who were the most affected and impacted, who have taken care of each other and been at the forefront of change," he says. "They revolutionized patient-centred care not just for themselves but for health system users more generally." Toward the top of HALCO's current priority list is Canada's criminal prosecution record of individuals with HIV for non- disclosure of their status to sex- ual partners. By criminalizing risk of exposure to HIV, Peck says, Canada is out of step with jurisdictions such as the U.K., where prosecutions are limited to cases of reckless transmission. With more than 200 criminal cases brought, the bulk of them in Ontario, Canada lies third on the list of the most vigorous prosecutors of people living with HIV per capita in the world, be- hind only Russia and the U.S. "That's not a title we should be shooting for," says Jonathan Shime, a criminal lawyer with Toronto firm Cooper Sandler Shime and Bergman LLP, who says the science supports a less zealous criminal pursuit of those with HIV. For those whose condition is under control through medi- cation, he says, their low viral load makes the chance of trans- mission extremely small during many forms of sexual contact and virtually zero when a con- dom is used. "In the U.K., they realized it was defeating public health goals because the stigmatization makes people less likely to get tested for HIV," Shime says. For that reason, he welcomed a Justice Canada report issued late last year that recommended criminal sanctions not be sought against those on treatment who use condoms or engage in oral sex only. Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General also said it would not proceed with charges against people whose viral load was suppressed for at least six months. "It's positive, but it's not suf- ficient," Shime says. In the last decade, HALCO has boosted its expertise in im- migration law as a result of de- mand from both refugees and economic migrants with HIV, says Peck. Michael Battista, a Toronto lawyer with Battista Smith Mi- gration Law Group, has acted for a number of refugee claim- ants who sought protection in Canada as a direct result of their HIV-positive status. "In many countries around the world, people with HIV are heavily stigmatized and dis- criminated against. They're os- tracized and can even be subject to violence," he says. For economic migrants, he says, the inadmissibility provi- sions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act have his- FOCUS See Door, page 13 Jonathan Shime says the science supports a less zealous criminal pursuit of those with HIV. What is still the hallmark of an HIV diagnosis is the very real stigma and accompanying discrimination. Ryan Peck CALL FOR NOMINATIONS The Lexpert® Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40 honours lawyers from law firms, in-house and alternative practices. We encourage lawyers to nominate other lawyers from firms, in-house and government with whom they have worked. The Awards presentation is the centrepiece of a gala dinner scheduled for November 8 th , 2018, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Nominations close July 3 rd , 2018. To nominate a colleague and/or access the nomination criteria, please visit us online: lexpert.ca/rising-stars FOUNDING PARTNER Untitled-12 1 2018-05-30 2:20 PM

• Cover