Write a Comment
11 Comments
Sean,whats hard for me to believe at 59yrs old is,i remember how hard the fight was, a lot of younger gays don't know what G.R.I.D means,those of us who lived throught the early 80's know it was branded a gay mans disease,some people were convinced the wrath of god was finally upon gay people,there was a unity I haven't seen since,now there is judgement among the different classes of gay men,the wealthy, the have not gays,the ones in relationships,the so called trashy men and the H.I.V's,well me being a triple minority,black,gay and H.I.V,I guess I have truly live to see it all,civil right movement,young men of all races sent to die in Vietnam,thats where you went if you were poor in the 60's,the beginning of the gay right movement,the anti gay phobia of the early 80's,the brave men of the act of movement,which I benefit today from,but I never thought I would see gay men using the conservative court against each other,young single gays ,if you are not in a monogamous relationship you view every potential partner as H.I.V,its not what his test said last week its what he did last night,i live in a state where hobby lobby just won a victory to not pay for womens contreceptives,the will keep paying for male enhancement drugs,the could turn on their H.I.V. employees next,we need to stay out of court and find unity again,don't get comfortable and think that same conservative court can't be used against you. Thank you
I take huge issue with a lot of this article. I agree that there is a stigma that needs to change. There are lots of steps that can be taken to protect a neg person from contracting HIV if they have sex with someone who is pos, but it IS the pos person's responsibility to inform the neg person, end of story. Clearly people being arrested for spitting is ridiculous, and that needs to stop. but it if you have HIV and you have sex and don't disclose your status, even if there's little to no risk of transmittal, you're in the wrong. I had a "Consensual" adult sexual relationships with an HIV pos man for TWO YEARS, we had the "do you get tested? are you clean?" conversation. i trusted him. we stopped using condoms. maybe his viral count was extremely low... maybe the risk of transmission was extremely low. but i had a right to know that information and to make an informed decision based on the facts. he could have shown me the test results with his viral load and we could have disgust it. i loved him dearly. but he put my life at risk without an regard for my right to be informed. he lied to me. and i'm not the only one, i know of a dozen other women he's done this to. none of us have tested pos, but we have all had to live with the fear as we wait for test results. we've all had do deal with the feelings of betrayal and if we can ever trust someone again. i pray he gets at least 25 years in prison. i hope he dies there. i hope he never has the "freedom" to have a normal sex life ever again. He is a predator. i do not doubt that there ARE women he has infected. and if he doesn't die i prison, he better have to register as a sex offender until the day he does die. I do not hate people with HIV. but you have to realize that life isn't always fair. sometimes we have shit that happens that isn't our fault but it changes our lives and it makes them more difficult and we have to take responsibility of the duties we now have to protect others from not having to down the same path. i have a very good friend who has been living with HIV for nearly 10 years. i love him dearly. i know life is tough for him and i wish it wasn't. but it doesn't change the fact that he now has to always inform ANYONE he has sexual contact with, no matter how little he believes the risk to be, because that's not up to him to decide. you don't get to make those choices on your own! and adult, consensual relationship is 100% dependent on all parties being informed of all important information. If you know that a piece of "important information" would change someone's consent, so you purposefully with hold that, you're a rapist and that's no longer consensual sex.
I disagree. As an RN, I understanding the meaning of "consent". Before one can consent to anything, he or she must be aware or potential risks as well as the benefits. If someone failed to inform me I had even a small chance of acquiring ANY type of sexually transmitted disease, I would report them. My life is important to me. As a human being I am worthy of being informed about potential threats to my health and safety. I have that right. A person who is infected with HIV has the right to sex but that right does not supersede my right to safety.
Check out www.seroproject.com, seroproject (dot) com as that site has a lot of information on specific cases, including interviews with persons prosecuted.
I found this article so so so so enlightening. I had no idea any of this was happening. Could you post the sources, please? I feel like that would make this already powerful article stronger. I mean, I've found stuff similar to what's discussed in this article with simple Google searches, but I would like to see the sources for the cases discussed here too. Thanks.
It is unbelievable that people living with HIV/AIDS are carrying everyone's burdern and responsibility. As i said before,DISCLOSURE IS NOT THAT EASY. Why do we have to take the responsibility alone? Our governments are just charging people without thinking. WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE. If they really want to prevent HIV, they need to involve both parties. It is time to change our conversations during dating- BOTH PARTIES TO TALK ABOUT HIV; THIS IS NOT A ONE PERSON BURDEN. It is NOT ONE PERSON RESPONSIBILITY. WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS- IT IS CRUEL AND INHUMAN TO TARGET people living with HIV only. We are not animals, it is not our FAULT. I am angry by the way the system is treating us across the world.
I committed a very pain barning crime and was given 3to 6 yr..i did 4..i restered and complyed..its been 17yr now..i haven't had no problems..i was working,had a wife and daughter..my marriage fell a part..i became homeless until a fried rented me his basement..my life was very peacefull..i was about to enform the community of my new address but I got so sick and in 2010 iomost lost my life to AIDS..i spent only 3to 4 months that yr out the hospital and in my bed.has i was in the hospital i lost my basement payment and had to move..i was arrested for faillong to report my address..i was given 2months and a $325 fine..i told probation officer i was Hiv and my girl knows..we use protection..at times we are just lost and enjoying our life..after reading your booklet..i believe i will shear the fegrading fate of all sexofender with HIV..to night leave this world..its not fair..i love my family,my wife,my kids,and my 2dogs..i don't want to die in prison..it will be more painful to my love ones..i pray theres some cure and some consideration in people cases..i can't live..i can't do jail..on Fed.14,2012 I am to do 2 months on rickers island..i will never leav that jail..norsee it..
Anonymously
Today, I felt depressed and worthless, so I decided to do some research. I wanted to find out if there were cases like mine. For the past year, I have been fighting a false allegation from a previous girlfriend. After I no longer wanted to be with her because of her abusive behavior, she pressed charges against me by saying that I had slept with her without informing her of my status. Although I took her to get tested, talk to my doctor and the nurse, and although I have documentation that I had tried to discontinue the relationship, and letters that she had written stating that she will destroy me if I ever leave her by saying that I didn't inform her of my status, I was still arrested and had to plea no content. They put me on probation, and I had to pay fines -- after I had already paid a few thousand on attorney fees. I feel let down by the system, and the system believed a woman who is borderline and bipolar. I feel as if anyone can make up anything and the system will prosecute. I lost my job and got into debt because of this. There are only a few people that know my status, and I like to keep it that way. But after all this happened, I had to disclose my status to my kids. That was the toughest thing I have ever done. Anyway, I'm just so destroyed inside and have a really hard time trusting people, and definitely trusting the criminal justice system.
February 6, 2015