Re: letter to the editor: Man guilty of murder by HIV
This legal case is definitely a significant step within the legal concerns relating to HIV/AIDS within Canada.
Convicting any individual of spreading HIV, articulates that one person is responsible for protecting another individual against there HIV.
Should there not have been responsibility among Johnson Aziga and the women that had unprotected sex with him?
This legal case tells us that the HIV positive partner should carry the responsibility of safe sex, and not equally between both individuals.
In Red Deer, Alberta, there is still stigma and discrimination towards those that are HIV positive.
If there is stigma around those that are HIV positive, how likely are individuals to disclose their status? In order to make sure that people disclose about their status, we need to work around beating this stigma and discrimination.
In order for there not to be legal cases such as the one including Johnson Aziga, there needs to be accountability, inclusion, non-discrimination, transparency, and dignity for all those affected both in our own community and nationally and internationally.
In order for our response to HIV to be fully effective we need to ask ourselves why there are cases like these at all.
Only at this time will we be able to effectively beat the epidemic.
Erin Konsmo
Red Deer