HIV is a virus, not a crime: ten reasons against criminal statutes and criminal prosecutions

Abstract

The widespread phenomenon of enacting HIV-specific laws to criminally punish transmission of, exposure to, or non-disclosure of HIV, is counter-active to good public health conceptions and repugnant to elementary human rights principles. The authors provide ten reasons why criminal laws and criminal prosecutions are bad strategy in the epidemic.

Associations between the legal context of HIV, perceived social capital, and HIV antiretroviral adherence in North America

“…Multinational and non-governmental organizations have highlighted the challenges that the criminalization of HIV exposure/transmission pose for effective HIV prevention, care, treatment, and management [26,29]. Substantial evidence suggests that the criminalization of HIV exposure/transmission has limited benefit for population health and may adversely affect individual behavior [9-11,13,14,16]. Prosecutions for HIV exposure have occurred in Canada and the United States since the beginning of the epidemic and are increasing in some jurisdictions within the two countries [12,15,27].…”

Participation in research involving novel sampling and study designs to identify acute HIV-1 infection among minority men who have sex with men

“…In addition to concerns about physical safety and privacy, criminalization as the index person was a concern expressed consistently. The feelings of fear of criminalization and partner violence expressed by the participants are not unfounded, and have been debated in the scientific, ethic and legal communities as well (Cameron, Burris, & Clayton, 2008; Kaye, Chibo, & Birch, 2009; Wainberg, 2008). For instance, biological measurements such as sequence data have been used in prosecuting individuals accused of criminal transmission of HIV, as well as identifying potential sources of HIV transmission (Albert, Wahlberg, Leitner, Escanilla, & Uhlen, 1994; Kaye et al, 2009; Leitner, Escanilla, Franzen, Uhlen, & Albert, 1996).…”

“…For instance, biological measurements such as sequence data have been used in prosecuting individuals accused of criminal transmission of HIV, as well as identifying potential sources of HIV transmission (Albert, Wahlberg, Leitner, Escanilla, & Uhlen, 1994; Kaye et al, 2009; Leitner, Escanilla, Franzen, Uhlen, & Albert, 1996). While numerous cases of criminalization of HIV transmission have been documented in the lay press, arguments in the scientific and legal literature advocate for decriminalization of HIV transmission on the basis that these laws are stigmatizing and reduce likelihood of disclosure (Cameron et al, 2008). This issue is particularly acute for minority MSM who feel doubly stigmatized for being minority and MSM, and often are living in settings of high incarceration rates.…”

Local Understanding and Responses to Deliberate Transmission of HIV: Experiences from Persons Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment in Rural Northeastern Tanzania

“…There has also been some evidence of the legal sanctions to curb the spread of the epidemic [18,15]. Despite the existence of a law describing intentional spread of HIV in Tanzania, there has been no attempt to systematically investigate the social definitions of deliberate spread of HIV through empirical studies.…”

“…Several countries around the world, including Africa, have passed HIV laws in an attempt to curb the spread of the pandemic [2,15,16,17]. The effectiveness and implications of these laws in controlling HIV and AIDS have been subject to on-going debate.…”