Criminalization of HIV transmission
Canada is amongst the many countries that have HIV specific criminal law that persecute people for transmitting the disease. In Canada, it is illegal to engage in sexual activities without disclosing seropositive status unless there is a use of condoms and a low viral load is present. Criminal law as prevention for the transmission of HIV seems reasonable, but upon examining a bit further in the topic, it appears that it is ineffective and might actually do more harm than good to those whom they aim to protect. Examples of those negatively affected by this law are prison systems worldwide, women who are vulnerable to domestic violence and gender inequality. It also leads to an increase of stigma in today’s society towards PLWHIV. Therefore, this law undermines the previous prevention effort and should not be recommended as a prevention method.
The main purpose of criminalizing HIV transmission is to hamper the spread of
HIV. Increase disclosure of seropositivity to sex partner and the reduction of risky sexual practice is what some seek as an outcome of the implementation of HIV transmission in the criminal law. It is intuitive to think that by making an activity illegal will make it less likely to happen, however a few studies suggest that is not the case. A study on criminal law’s influence on HIV risk behavior between Chicago, Illinois, a state with HIV specific law and New York, a state without, found that there are insignificant differences between people’s sex behavior between the two states. (Burris, 2007) This suggests that criminalizing HIV transmission does not lower the chances of people engaging in risky sex behavior, which is a one of the cause of HIV transmission. Burris’ study also points out that in the US from 1986 to 2001, only 316 people with HIV were prosecuted for the transmission of the virus. This study shows that the amount of people charged with the crime is insignificant when the estimated new HIV incident is 50,000
The main purpose of criminalizing HIV transmission is to hamper the spread of
HIV. Increase disclosure of seropositivity to sex partner and the reduction of risky sexual practice is what some seek as an outcome of the implementation of HIV transmission in the criminal law. It is intuitive to think that by making an activity illegal will make it less likely to happen, however a few studies suggest that is not the case. A study on criminal law’s influence on HIV risk behavior between Chicago, Illinois, a state with HIV specific law and New York, a state without, found that there are insignificant differences between people’s sex behavior between the two states. (Burris, 2007) This suggests that criminalizing HIV transmission does not lower the chances of people engaging in risky sex behavior, which is a one of the cause of HIV transmission. Burris’ study also points out that in the US from 1986 to 2001, only 316 people with HIV were prosecuted for the transmission of the virus. This study shows that the amount of people charged with the crime is insignificant when the estimated new HIV incident is 50,000