Greece must withdraw the provision on forced HIV testing and end harassment of transgender women
The reintroduction of the regulation on the transmission of
infectious diseases by the Greek Health Minister puts vulnerable groups
including sex workers, HIV positive individuals and drug-injecting users
at risk of further discrimination and stigmatization.
Amnesty
International calls on the Greek authorities to immediately overturn the
new regulation and to end these discriminatory practices, which violate
European and International human rights obligations.
The regulation by Greece’s new Health Minister, Adonis Georgiadis,
comes after Thessaloniki police escalated arbitrary ID checks of
transgender women in late May this year.
Representatives of the Greek Transgender Support Association told
the organization that 25 transgender women in Thessaloniki were stopped
for ID checks and then transferred to police stations where they were
arbitrarily detained for several hours and then released and that the
checks are still on-going.
Furthermore, Elektra Koutra, a lawyer
representing the Greek Transgender Support Association, reported to the
organization how she was arbitrarily detained and intimidated by police
when she went to see some of her clients at a police station in
Thessaloniki last June.
The country’s Minister for Citizen Protection attempted to
justify the actions as a bid to “improve the image” of areas of
Thessaloniki, saying they were aimed at tackling prostitution and
improving safety and “the [city’s] image”
The introduction of the regulation for the first time in May
2012, resulted in hundreds of alleged sex workers, drug users and
migrants being arrested, transferred to police stations and forced to
undergo HIV tests.
It was suspended a month ago by the previous deputy
Health Minister, F. Skopouli, as a result of severe criticism it
received by international human rights bodies, national and
international non-governmental organizations including Amnesty
International.
Twenty nine women who underwent forced HIV testing last year and
were found to be HIV-positive had their names, personal details and
photographs published in the media, under the guise of protecting public
health.
Accused in media reports of being “prostitutes” and “health
bombs”, they were detained for months after being charged with the
offence of “causing serious bodily harm with intent”.
In January and
March 2013, eight of the women were acquitted and released.
The rest
were also released while for twelve of the women the felony charges
brought against them were turned to a lesser offence.
By disproportionately targeting vulnerable groups, including
transgender people, sex workers, and people living with HIV, the new
measures will only further marginalize them and leave them open to
further human rights violations.
The organization wishes to express its serious concern and calls
on the Greek authorities to end the harassment of the vulnerable groups
and withdraw this regulation immediately.
Furthermore, the organization
also calls the Greek authorities to conduct a prompt and impartial
investigation into the reported arbitrary detention of Elektra Koutra,
the legal representative of the transgender women.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Amnesty International wishes to underline that HIV prevention
initiatives must be based on evidence and in-line with human rights law.
Testing should be undertaken voluntarily and accompanied by an offer of
pre- and post-test counselling, to ensure that individuals are given
the opportunity to provide valid, informed consent to testing and
treatment.
Forced HIV testing and criminalisation of sex work and HIV
transmission or exposure have been recognised internationally as
running contrary to public health aims.
For HIV prevention initiatives
to be effective, individuals must feel confident that they can be tested
voluntarily for HIV without fear of repercussions or criminalisation.
Where punitive sanctions exist, individuals are less likely to come
forward to test.
According to the Greek Transgender Support Association, between
50 to 60 transgender women were arrested and forced to undergo HIV
testing following the introduction of the provision last year.
In relation to the recent arrests of transgender women in
Thessaloniki, the representatives of the Greek Transgender Support
Association informed Amnesty International that they took place even
when the transgender women were in their car or were going to buy
something and that during their detention were subjected to abusive and
discriminatory remarks.
Many of them were stopped and held to the police
stations in that manner more than once.
Amnesty International also
spoke to some of the transgender women arrested who described the fear
they experienced following their harassment.
Discrimination and violence against transgender individuals is
widespread in Greece.
Amnesty International spoke to a transgender girl
who was attending an evening school who described to the organization
how she has been discriminated against by school authorities and bullied
and physically threatened by her peers.
Transgender individuals are
targeted with violence by non-state parties on a regular basis and often
harassed by the police as Amnesty International was told by the Greek
Transgender Support Association last March during a fact-finding mission
to Athens
FURTHER DOCUMENTS
Greece must stop the criminalization and stigmatization of alleged
sex workers found to be HIV positive,
