HIV criminalization may discourage testing, study shows
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LANSING — A team of researchers has published findings that, they say, indicate criminalization of HIV may discourage testing and hinder efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.
The study, from Canada, found that a significant minority of men who have sex with men said that a series of high-profile criminal prosecutions related to HIV nondisclosure had impacted their willingness to get tested for the virus or to discuss risk factors with medical professionals. The researchers further reported that these individuals were more likely to engage in higher-risk sexual practices.
“Our results indicate that, although it is a minority of individuals (17.0% and 13.8%, respectively) who reported that nondisclosure criminal prosecutions either (a) affected their willingness to get tested for HIV, or (b) made them afraid to speak with nurses and physicians about their sexual practices, this small group reported higher rates of unprotected penetrative anal intercourse and internal ejaculation with, on average, a higher number of different sexual partners within the previous 2 months,” wrote the study’s authors.
The researchers found in addition to reporting “less STI/HIV testing,” this same group of respondents reported a “preference for anonymous HIV testing” — meaning that public health officials would be unable to help contact the sexual partners of someone who did test positive.
The researchers warn that the study, which was published online in May by the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, is based on a nonrandom sample and cannot be generalized to the population as a whole. Additionally, one expert told The American Independent that preliminary analysis of a separate, U.S.-based study did not show an impact of disclosure laws on testing behavior.
Still, the Canadian study is the first empirical evidence to support activists’ contention that HIV-related criminal laws might pose an obstacle to HIV testing. Since these prosecutions tend to target individuals who tested positive for HIV and then allegedly did not disclose that fact to their partners, critics have warned that they create a situation where not knowing one’s status protects one from arrest, prosecution, and jail time.
The study’s lead author, Patrick O’Byrne, says the findings are particularly important for HIV prevention. In an email exchange with The American Independent, O’Byrne, who is a professor in nursing at the University of Ottawa, said the research showed “a significant relationship between nondisclosure prosecutions, an avoidance of testing, and higher-risk sexual practices.”
He added that numerous studies have noted that those who are unaware that they are infected with HIV are more likely to infect others.
“The major implications of our findings relate to public health outcomes and HIV prevention,” O’Byrne says. Noting that an estimated 20 percent of Americans and 26 percent of Canadians infected with the virus don’t know it, O’Byrne explains: “With such a large number of individuals not knowing they are HIV-positive, there are clearly issues which undermine current HIV testing strategies. What is not wanted is an additional factor that may further deter HIV testing. Our findings suggest that nondisclosure prosecutions may be one such factor — and therefore an unwanted influence for public health HIV prevention efforts.”
But O’Byrne and others note the study has limits.
“The results of this study must be interpreted within its context: Ottawa, Canada within one year after a nondisclosure prosecution involving headline, front-page media attention,” says O’Byrne. “Indeed, the local prosecution released the [accused’s] full name, photograph, and sexual orientation. While it is impossible to tell, one must acknowledge that these factors could have influenced the results.”
The headline reporting O’Byrne references include the highly publicized charges brought against a gay man for not disclosing his HIV-positive status to sexual partners. Those charges included aggravated sexual assault and attempted murder. In at least some instances, he is alleged to have infected other men.
After the man was arrested, Ottawa police officials released his picture and warned residents that he had “an infectious medical condition.” That release was condemned by HIV advocates and public health officials. The man remains in jail while he awaits the outcome of a Canadian Supreme Court decision on HIV transmission in that country, reported the Waterloo Region Record in March.
Criminal laws perform two functions, first as punishment for causing harm to others and second to deter potential harmful actions. To forgo the former to protect the latter is to ignore the victims of real and actual wrong doing.
The date of the last unprotected sxaeul encounter starts the 3 month period. Unprotected sex is a risk factor for acquiring HIV. Add multiple sex partners-another risk factor. I’ll set this up with only sxaeul transmission as a risk factor although of course there’s swapping blood through injecting drugs and mother to baby. Scenario: If you had a negative HIV result this week, to be certain of the result, 1. you should either abstain from sex or practice safer sex by using condoms with every sxaeul encounter. 2. Re-test in 3 months-the Western blot and Elisa tests identify the HIV antibody not the virus itself (both tests are done routinely on each blood sample as a confirmation) The body develops these antibodies in approximately 3-6 months after being infected with HIV. 3. Continue the abstinence or safer sex and re-test again in 3 months. 4. Practice abstinence until you are in a monogomous relationship or safer sex thereafter. There is no such thing as safe sex. SAFER sex is protecting yourself by using a barrier-the condom. Abstinence is the only 100% effective means of avoiding HIV via sxaeul transmission.
Well, it all depends if there is an open cut. If I poeurd dirty blood all over my hand and didn’t have an open cut, I would not get HIV. Although the mouth is a bit different. The mouth usually has many cuts due to the teeth constantly biting down on the tissue inside your mouth. So, if you didn’t have an open cut in your mouth you should be fine. But to be on the safe side, I would get checked out.And don’t listen to the a** hole saying your going to die, there just ignorant, and don’t know the basiscs of the question. It’s kinda sad that they are saying it
For the most accurate retluss, six months. Perhaps it would be more proactive for you and your partner to get tested before you start to have sex, so that you both know each other is clean.
The MEN who hold power , ah, so that’s what your really piessd about. As I wrote previously, this has less to do with pornography and more to do with who controls it.You mention the fact that some young girls are vulnerable, they’ve suffered abuse and have no self-esteem. What about all of the young boys who have been molested by the catholic church? When they grow dicks, do they all run out and join the porn industry?Face it, you hate men and your argument is paper thin.
No you can only get HIV by putting your left ring finegr up the a** of a chimpanzee on the 3rd day of the 5th month during a full quarter moon. God, didn’t you take health class? Unless you’ve done this then your fine. Don’t even get me started on the warts.
I’ve always watend a little girl first. A little boy eventually, but for our first – a little cutie pie baby girl. I’m the oldest, and maybe you want what you had? I have a younger brother and love our relationship, hubs has an older sister and younger brother and wants three kids. Really though, healthy happy babies are all that matter!
There is no difference beetewn abuse of boys and girls. The murder scenario, well, that’s not black and white . But murder is not a controlled industry is it. The punishment is dealt depending on the circumstances. The young persons background ect. I’m talking about a young person being lured into an industry that has the potential to cause emotional and physical damage. STD’s and drug abuse is rife. I wouldn’t wish that on any young person.
Although HIV testing is often restequed along with other STD tests, it is not necessary or mandatory that the HIV test be included. You can just get the tests you want to get. HIV testing is never automatically done with other testing. In order to get an HIV test, you would need to request the test and sign a consent form. Legally, HIV testing can not be done without the written consent of the person being tested.You can check the website hivtest.org to find free testing sites in your area. Just enter your ZIP code.
Your test at 3 weeks is too soon to detect aeoibtdins. You need at least 6-8 weeks as almost all infected people test positive by this time. But even that has to be confirmed by 3 months conclusive test.Symptoms mean nothing. They could be related to other medical conditions or due to anxiety. Most infected people do not even have symptoms. Yes, I have seen people who had all the possible symptoms and ended up testing negative.Your chance of contracting HIV from the single episode that you described is slim. The chance of contracting HIV from unprotected vaginal sex is 1 to 1000 per single episode. This is considering that your partner is infected (and yours is probably not). So odds are on your favour but still you HAVE to get tested. That is the only way you can tell if you were infected or not. Good luck. Always use condoms when you dont know the status of your partner.
It is good news for people of India. The world bank sohlud conduct an impartial & genuine inquiry on the HIV test kit procurement scam (by NACO) that is going on in India now. Most important factor is that the WHO/UNAIDS strategies for HIV-screening is openly flouted. The tender document released by NACO to purchase HIV test kits is unscientific & vague . Both in ELISA & rapid-test segment, there is no mention that state-of-art kits sohlud be quoted. This enables unscupulous suppliers to quote their outdated products (2nd generation tests) that give false negative results in early seroconversion sera.Another factor that is fuelling the spread of AIDS in India is the fear of labs/doctors (both private & Govt.) to report a HIV-positive case. A HIV-positive case means extra work, extra problems and sometimes even harassment from patients, authorities & Govt. So its is safer to give false negative! No questions would be asked! If there is a transmission due to false negative, you can always say the patient was in the window period during testing ! With this message, I wish all the best to the consultants visiting India in their endevour.Regards,GB
leticia olalia morales of 15501 pasadena ave #h tustin ca 92780 submitted fake documents and 5000 dollars to a person name sandman at the US embassy in manila. she also submitted fake employment records to obtain a work visa. Her husband carlos b. morales also submitted fake documents (land titles and bank statements) to obtain a tourist visa. Her son carlo iii also used such and helped 2 other people to obtain a US tourist visa.
It is possible to live with HIV. This may not have been what you watend to hear though. Until you have a blood test you wont know and it may be that getting so worked up about it is having a psychosomatic effect on you. When people genuinely believe they have an illness it has been known that some symptoms can manifest just because of this strong belief that they are ill. Don’t worry until you have that test. Until then always take precaution.
One solution is to make HIV testing (along with testing of any incurable, fatal, and infectious disease) mandatory for anyone who seeks any kind of medical care. It is fortunately already illegal for someone who knows he or she is HIV-infected to have vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom or to have intercourse without telling his partner that he is infected. Perhaps we should strengthen the law so that it is also illegal for anyone who does not know his HIV status but has previously engaged in high risk sex (i.e. intercourse without a condom with more than one person in the previous 6 months) to have unsafe sex without disclosure. Therefore, it would be illegal for both HIV infected and HIV unknown but high risk people to engage in unsafe sex or sex without disclosure. We need these penalties to end the pandemic and save tens of millions of lives.
You are unnecessarily woyinrrg. Stop woyinrrg and crying. At present you suffering from the anxiety symptoms only. There will not any pre-HIV symptoms as you think. Though what I write further lines is not relevant to you I ought to inform you that HIV is not a incurable disease now. It can be well treated and now the medical science has good medicines in this regard. You need not think about your life ending and do not image unnecesary things about your health. Learn more knowledge about your health and diseases. ok. To avoid from your panic thinking do more open exercises and enjoy with friends company and eat fresh vegetables and fruits. Drink much water. ok. Life is very valuable Concentrate on your job or purpuse of life. Do not waste on thinking waste items.
TEAM BLUE. I want a girl eventually, but I want my sons to take on the \”protective\” older btroher role… and I also want to spare my future daughter the exhaustion of being our family \”glue\” as being the eldest daughter of the current \”family glue\” – aka me.
10.21.11 at 8:07 amClampsNo groom should skip this vital part of any weidndg planning: taste testing. Our caterers sat me down with about 5 plates of various meal choices. I had some baked salmon, a nice filet mignon, stuffed chicken breast, chicken parm, and some lobster tails all in the space of an hour. The caterer was also nice enough to throw in a few bottles of fine imported ale to wash it all down. BEST LUNCH EVER.The Enabler needs to tell this Former Friend to fuck right off. Facebook is for two things: not responding to invitations and looking at pictures of other people’s attractive cousins. Tangling yourself in the web of lies of some guy you’ve cut out of your life for a decade for absolutely no return seems like a poor investment for you with tons of negative backlash potential.The Cuckold has two scenarios to look at:j) She’s been rubbing it out thinking of some other dude for a good eight weeks, and it’s time to turn it up a notch. She won’t pull the trigger with the other dude because of an obligation to you.or IV) Similar to j, but she’ll pull the trigger with Tyrone any minute now. Get out while the going’s good. Lest you think Tyrone is a big black dude, he’s actually just a big ginger dude.
Well he has to have HIV to give it to you. Since he apparently was a vgriin. The chances of him having HIV are slim, unless he were to get it from a source other than sex. Apparently you’re not very well educated on sex hooray public schools! Or maybe you go to a Christian school where they don’t even attempt to teach you about sex.Let me teach you some about sex, he can still get you pregnant with out cumming inside you, there is a thing called pre-cum. Use protection! Use birth control! Use your brain!
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It is not possible to be inefcted this way. Once HIV is outside the body, exposed to air, it only survives for a few minutes. Once any fluids containing the virus are dried, the virus is already dead. Making it wet again will not make it infectious again.(The reason that blood in syringes, whether fresh or dried, continues to be infectious is that the syringe is an airtight environment in which the virus can survive for longer periods of time.)
