Essex Barrister Has Written An Article Which Argues That Passing On AIDS Should Be A Criminal Offence

Opinion that deliberately passing on AIDS would be an offence under an 1861 Act.

Interviewed in a studio, Piers Wauchope refers to the 1861 Offences Against The Person Act and says that prosecutions could be brought under that Act in cases where a person with AIDS passes on the virus to another person by design or by recklessness. He mentions a recently publicised case of “revenge sex” where someone with AIDS deliberately set out to infect other people. He feels the 1861 Act is sufficient to provide the basis for prosecution and mentions the parallel between poisoning and passing on an infection. The reporter was Surrey Beddows for this video made to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.

Keywords

AIDS; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; HIV; Criminal law

Additional Description

Piers Wauchope, barrister, served as a local councillor for the Conservative Party and as interim leader of the UK Independence Party in 2019.