HIV Is Not A Crime HIV Is Not A Crime Modernize Nevada’s HIV Criminal Laws. A broad coalition of public health officials, elected leaders and organizations are working hard to modernize Nevada’s outdated, ineffective and discriminatory laws that criminalize people living with HIV. Join us: The Problem Nevada’s laws that criminalize HIV are outdated, ineffective and discriminatory. OUTDATEDThese laws haven’t kept up with science. Thanks to modern medicine, we know how to eliminate the risk of HIV transmission through treatment and prevention medications. Instead, these laws criminalize behavior that science has proven cannot transmit the virus — such as biting, spitting and having sex while taking medications that make a person “undetectable,” meaning the viral load in their body is so low that there is a 0% chance of transmission. INEFFECTIVEThese laws discourage testing, treatment and disclosure, which are all key to preventing the spread of HIV and ending the epidemic. Instead of protecting people from HIV exposure, Nevada’s HIV criminal laws hurt public health by discouraging those at risk from getting tested. They also discourage people who test positive from seeking treatment and disclosing their status to sexual partners out of fear of being prosecuted. DISCRIMINATORYThese laws unfairly target people because of their HIV status — rather than their actions. Nevada’s laws don’t require a person to actually transmit HIV or have any intent to transmit HIV. In fact, the laws don’t even require that there be any chance of transmission — only that the person be living with HIV. The laws treat HIV differently from every other communicable disease — it’s the only one listed in Nevada’s penal code. And the laws disproportionately impact certain communities who are more likely to be living with HIV, including LGBTQ+ people, Black and Latinx people and transgender women — populations who already face significant discrimination in our justice system. The Solution We can end the Nevada’s HIV epidemic if we use proven prevention methods and modernize our HIV laws. We must create an environment in which all people want and have access to HIV testing, treatment, and other prevention options — not one that criminalizes people based on their status. HIV is not a crime. It’s a public health issue. Our laws should reflect that. In 2019, the Nevada Legislature created the HIV Modernization Task Force to recommend changes to Nevada’s outdated, ineffective and discriminatory HIV criminal laws. They have recommended the following solutions: Make intentional conduct that may transmit HIV a misdemeanor instead of a felony and move the statute from the penal code to the public health code. The HIV epidemic is a public health crisis, not a criminal matter, and requires a public health approach rather than a criminal one. This would align the state’s treatment of HIV with that of other communicable diseases. Amend outdated laws that currently criminalize behaviors such as biting and spitting, even though HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva. These laws completely disregard science and are unnecessarily redundant — assault and battery are already crimes. It’s extremely unfair to subject someone to extra punishment simply because they are living with HIV, when the conduct in question has no chance of transmitting HIV. Repeal laws that require people arrested for certain crimes and people who are incarcerated to be tested for HIV. These statutes are unnecessary violations of privacy and can lead to excessive punishment for people living with HIV based on fear and stigma instead of science and public safety. Instead, a statute should be added to the public health code allowing incarcerated Nevadans to get tested for all STDs/STIs, thereby promoting the proven public health strategy of testing without exclusively singling out HIV. Repeal NRS 201.358, which currently makes it a felony for people living with HIV to engage in sex work. It is already a misdemeanor for people to engage in illegal sex work in the state of Nevada (NRS 201.354). Imposing a sentence enhancement specifically on people living with HIV — when one does not exist for any other communicable disease — is both excessive and discriminatory. Supporters A broad coalition of public health officials, elected leaders and organizations support modernizing outdated, ineffective and discriminatory laws that criminalize people living with HIV. President Joe Biden: “These laws perpetuate discrimination and stigma towards people with HIV/AIDS, and there is simply no ‘scientific basis’ for them.” [The Biden Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality in America and Around the World] Vice President Kamala Harris: “I support reversing outdated laws that continue to stigmatize individuals with HIV. Furthermore, we need to ensure that we are enforcing laws already on the books that prevent discrimination against individuals on the basis of their HIV status.” [HIV Plus Magazine, 9/19/19] Governor Steve Sisolak: “Senate Bill 284 was passed with bipartisan support in 2019 and I was proud to sign it into law in order to create the Advisory Task Force on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Exposure Modernization. The Task Force is taking a close look at our current statutes and regulations and making recommendations so the State of Nevada can better support those living with HIV/AIDS. Thank you to Silver State Equality for their tireless work on the front lines of HIV modernization. This website will help educate Nevadans of the continued efforts to modernize state laws pertaining to HIV.” Senator Dallas Harris: “It is long past time to modernize our state’s approach to HIV. Historically, simply having this disease has been criminalized across the country, which has perpetuated false and harmful misconceptions about the disease and the people who have it. In Nevada, we will treat HIV as a public health issue and not a crime, leading to better health outcomes for all of our citizens.” John (Rob) Phoenix, APRN, FNP-C: “Since the onset of COVID-19, science and healthcare have advanced at an historic pace. And while the science behind HIV transmission and prevention has similarly progressed in the last 40 years, unfortunately, Nevada’s criminal laws haven’t. As a medical professional focusing on LGBTQ+ care, I’ve seen firsthand how people living with HIV can lead healthy, fulfilling lives thanks to modern science. Now is the time to modernize Nevada’s discriminatory and ineffective HIV criminal laws.” Mission Statement The Nevada HIV Modernization Coalition is a diverse group of individuals who seek to modernize Nevada’s criminal HIV laws. Seriously outdated and lacking in scientific merit, these harmful laws criminalize and stigmatize Nevadans living with HIV and are counterproductive to ending the HIV epidemic in Nevada. We do this by speaking with a collective voice that is anchored in science and informed by the leadership of PLHIV working with public health and policy experts to educate our communities, our legislators, the judiciary, and law enforcement officials in order to pass meaningful reform measures. Steering Committee Alisa Howard, Chair, Owner, Minority Health Consultants, Adjunct Instructor of Community Health Worker Training Cheryl Radeloff, Ph.D., Chair, Southern NV HIV Prevention Planning Group Co-chair, Professor of Women’s Studies UNLV, Co-founding chair Regional Chairs Davina Conner, PLHIV 24 years, Community advocate, International Speaker, Community Engagement Specialist with Prevention Access Campaign Connie Shearer, PLHIV 25 years, Community Advocate and Organizer, Co-founding chair, NV State Lead – SERO Project, & PWN-USA Stephan Page, Policy Expert, Activist, Ally, Co-founding Chair Chris Reynolds, PLHIV 36 years, Public Health Expert, Community Health Worker, HIV PCP (Prevention Care Provider), Co-founding Chair
