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 U.S.  Senate  Approves  Defense  Department  Review  of  HIV-­‐Related  Policies,  Ends  Consensual  Sodomy  

Prosecutions  in  the  Military    

NEW YORK, NY, December 20, 2013 — The Sero Project salutes the U.S. Senate for passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal year 2014, which initiates a Defense Department review of HIV-related policies that have led to unjust prosecution and stigmatization of people living with HIV and removes “consensual sodomy” as a criminal offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. President Obama is expected to sign the National Defense Authorization Act before year’s end.

Specifically, the bill requires the Secretary of Defense to review existing policies governing enlistment, deployment, discharge and discipline of service members with HIV or hepatitis B and assess whether these policies reflect a medically accurate understanding of how these conditions can be contracted or transmitted. The provision was added as an amendment to the NDAA when it passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is similar to language in H.R. 1843, the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act, co-sponsored by Representative Barbara Lee (D–Cal.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R–Fla.).

This is a significant first step toward reforming the military’s HIV-related policies, and is the first time that Congress has taken action of any kind to address HIV criminalization.

Another provision in the bill will end criminal prosecutions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for “consensual sodomy,” which was maintained even after the 2011 end to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

The 85-15 Senate vote, taken on the evening of December 19, has been welcomed by service members who have faced HIV-related prosecutions: “This  is  a  unique  opportunity  for  Secretary  of  Defense  Hagel  to  take  care  of  our  all  volunteer  force  by  removing  HIV  discrimination  from  Armed  Forces  policies  and  advancing  the  military  to  reflect  modern  medical  times,”  said  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ken  Pinkela.    

Ken  Pinkela  

 Pinkela,  a  member  of  Sero’s  Advisory  Board,  was  convicted  in  2012  on  HIV-­‐related  charges  and  served  nine  months  in  a  military  prison;  his  case  is  now  on  appeal.    “Removing    ‘consensual  sodomy  laws’  and  reviewing  HIV  and  Hepatitis  B-­‐related  policies  are  positive  steps  that  should  help  stop  the  prosecution  of  consensual  sex—gay  or  straight—and  enable  scarce  resources  to  be  devoted  to  improving  the  military’s  criminal  justice  process  to  ensure  fair  and  well-­‐informed  investigations  before  pursuing  a  prosecution,”  Pinkela  added.    Monique  Moree  was  prosecuted  by  and  ultimately  discharged  from  the  U.S.  Army  for  not  disclosing  her  HIV  status  to  a  partner,  even  though  she  told  him  to  use  a  condom.  Moree,  also  a  member  of  Sero’s  Advisory  Board,  said,  “My  personal  dignity  and  my  respect  for  my  country  and  the  Army  made  me  want  to  take  a  stand  for  what  I  truly  believed—which  is  that  the  military  needs  to  be  better  informed  about  HIV/AIDS.  I  hope  that  this  law  will  help  make  sure  others  are  not  treated  like  those  of  us  who  have  been  prosecuted  under  these  outdated  HIV-­‐related  policies.”      Activists campaigning for criminalization reform praised last night’s vote by the Senate. “Knowing that the U.S. Congress has recognized the problem of HIV criminalization and addressed it in a bi-partisan manner will be extremely useful to local advocates trying reform these laws,” said Tami Haught, a Sero Board Member and a community organizer at Community HIV and Hepatitis Advocates of Iowa Network (CHAIN). “In Iowa, we also have bipartisan support to replace Code 709C, Iowa’s HIV-specific statute, and we have the backing of the State Attorney General and Iowa Department of Health for a law that improves public health by removing barriers to HIV testing and treatment.” The inclusion of these measures in the NDAA may help build support for the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act, introduced in the House by Representatives Lee and Ros-Lehtinen and recently introduced in the Senate by Senator Chris Coons (D–Del.). The REPEAL Act would initiate a broader federal effort to review HIV criminalization statutes in each state and help modernize them to be evidence-based and not unduly stigmatize people with HIV.

--- The Sero Project is a network of people with HIV and allies fighting for freedom from stigma and injustice. Sero research, community education and mobilization of grassroots communities, policy leaders and advocates has help drive recent advocacy for reform of criminalization statutes. Sero coordinates a U.S. HIV Criminalization Survivors Network and produced the award-winning short film, HIV is Not a Crime, which first introduced the growing trend of HIV criminalization to thousands of advocates around the world. Photographs of Pinkela, Moree and Haught available upon request

Monique  Moree