Advertisement
<< Back To Blog Post
Tell your story - how are you impacted by HIV criminalization?

Write a Comment

I have read and agree to the terms and conditions in the Posting Rules*

5 Comments

Alan

My personal feeling is are we our all responsible for our own health !! If your an adult and old enough to sexual relations ,everyone knows the risks involved . It's not as if HIV was just discovered as a new disease ,sad thing is the stigma attached to it even among the gay community . The U.S. had a travel ban for years that did not allow those of us that were poz to enter there country ,so perhaps for those that think being poz is a crime the real crime is ignorance . Same sex couples in the U.S. want the right to get married considering how long it took to have the travel ban lifted do not think it will be happening anytime soon . Being a long time survivor pre meds i blame know one but myself for being poz , for all those that want to point a finger at others where's your compassion and humanity . Just remember Karma one day it may be you being thrown in Jail . Namaste

May 31, 2012

Michael Stevens

I am from New Zealand. The legal situation here (and this is from a Court ruling) is that so long as the HIV+ partner takes all reasonable precautions i.e. uses a condom and doesn't expose their partner to blood or semen, that is all that is required. If the condom breaks by accident there is no criminal offence even if they have not disclosed. If someone with HIV deliberately removed or damaged a condom that would be criminal - but very hard to prove. Nearly all the prosecutions here have been for heterosexual men not using condoms. The court has ruled that while disclosure might be an ethical requirement it is not a legal one. The only major gay male case came about with a guy who repeatedly denied he was HIV+ to his sexual partners. He deliberately chose young men from online sites, (the youngest was 16 when he got infected), persuaded them not to use condoms & infected at least 15 before he was stopped. He was arrested and hanged himself in jail before his trial.I'd argue his case is exceptional - his behaviour was sociopathic rather than that of a typical PWLHA and symptomatic of much deeper personal issues. The effect has been mixed. While many poz people here now prefer to disclose, even though it is well publicised that we don't have to, others still feel too stigmatised to do so. Most HIV neg people think disclosure should be mandatory. I think there are situations when transmission should be treated as a criminal event, such as the one I outlined above - but these should fall into the same category as other criminal acts of reckless endangerment - there shouldn't be a separate "HIV Transmission" law. Sometimes HIV transmission is an act of criminal negligence or wrongdoing - sometimes it is just bad luck - that distinction needs to be maintained.

August 24, 2011

Geo

i have lived in nyc most of my life. it was in this state i became positive. i never felt discriminated in nyc and was sexually active. i took it upon myself to protect any casual partner without disclosing. but i would disclose to a potential partner. i never felt scared, i lived my life normally. it was when i moved to my hometown in puerto rico, that HIV reared its ugly head. i never had a problem disclosing. so i disclosed to a group of gay ppl within a 'gay church' i was part of.. while many knew my condition some wanted to date me, but were not my type so i turned them down. i was looking for a monogamous relationship and one day i went to san juan to a club with a church friend and saw this dude i was attracted to. luckily the church friend i was with knew him, so i was introduced to the guy.. we started talking and we took him home. but the church friend wanted a threesome, i didnt. church friend got angry. before i went on to having intimacy with the guy, i told him i was positive. he was nice, and told me i was a brave guy for disclosing and that he wouldnt mind dating me.. the problem was, he was told behind my back to be careful with me since i was sick... i thank GOD i had disclosed for i dont know what would have been the reaction had i lied!!!.... now i live in ohio, where hiv is a crime, it has changed my life tremendously when i found out hiv is a crime in this state!! i asked myself why?, i stopped dating and my depression started taking the best of me, i felt worthless for some reason, i had never seen myself the way the state of ohio made me feel... i thank God i met someone positive like myself and im in a relationship right now... i think sex is a responsibility for everyone involved not just the affected person, we all know HIV exists, therefore if a person is negative they should be the more careful and avoid exposure, why should the law be biased?? now-a-days noone should be having unprotected sex, not only cuz hiv but any other stds!.. i think its wrong, and unfair...

August 6, 2011

Jeton Ademaj

i can not say i have enjoyed experiencing the fear of HIV-criminalization, i certainly haven't. in my own case i apparently even had some degree of investigation of my sex life by Homeland Security(!) after discussing my (always open, full disclosure) sex life in a non-gay online setting. not to mention that the laws criminalizing non-disclosure essentially taint my own ethical impulse to disclose my status with the self-interest of avoiding prosecution frankly, i do not share any hope of decriminalization, and i'm not sure it's a good idea myself. if i were being raped (by anyone), i wouldn't feel the slightest responsibility to disclose my status unless i knew it would stop the rapist...but beyond that, there r extremely few sexual partners who do NOT have the right to know the HIV-status of the other partner(s). i am not moved by any ethical arguments to the contrary...and most practical arguments r fig leafs against that responsibility as well. furthermore, in my experience the great bulk of Americans feel much as i do. responsibility for infection prevention is indeed shared, but that does not extend to making disclosure optional...and there is simply no public support for the option to not disclose hiv+ status, either. quite the opposite. as such, i have growing qualms about the recent effort to decriminalize HIV at the Federal level...if that recently introduced Congressional bill decriminalizing HIV does NOT die in committee, it is likely to become a radioactive political football over the next year's election cycle. when (not if) the Tea Party and Evangelicals and other hard-line conservatives leap onto this effort to demonize it as best they can, does anyone really think they won't GAIN significant political victory as a result? my impression from recent coverage on the matter from POZ.com and other sources is that prosecutions of HIV+ people have increased and gotten more egregious over the years. given that even ostensible "allies" like gay-male sex columnists Dan Savage and Michael Alvear of Manhunt have viciously attacked non-disclosure (and the ASO's that tacitly accept it, in Savage's case), who in their right mind thinks Middle America's reaction will be any less vicious? Alvear even went so far as to insist his readers out the serostatus of anyone they know to be HIV+ to their friends, *just in case their friends MIGHT have sex with that person!* it seems like the effort to decriminalize HIV is already backfiring, and i see the activist community running headlong into a minefield on the issue. i'd suggest some private polling research on the matter of national attitudes to HIV decriminalization posthaste. i'm not looking to be Willie Horton in 2012...no one should be.

August 5, 2011

James

It has had no effect on me other than to remind me that having sex without disclosure is an unwise idea.. It did not prevent me from getting tested and no one I know has ever confessed that they haven't gotten an HIV test because they're afraid of disclosure issues if they test positive. However, I do agree that too much of the burden is placed on those who are HIV+. Sex takes at least two people to participate. Even if someone isn't HIV+ there is still syphilis, herpes, hepatitis B, chlamydia, etc. Even if you know someone to be HIV- it is still a good idea to use condoms. But it is still a good idea to disclose. The people who are against disclosure laws are usually the ones who want to be able to have sex with people without telling. I have no desire to put someone at risk unless they are aware and have chosen to accept that risk.

August 5, 2011

Advertisement

Hot topics


POZ uses cookies to provide necessary website functionality, improve your experience, analyze our traffic and personalize ads. Our Privacy Policy

Manage

POZ uses cookies to provide necessary website functionality, improve your experience, analyze our traffic and personalize ads. By remaining on our website, you indicate your consent to our Privacy Policy and our Cookie Usage.