HIV criminalization may discourage testing, study shows

Carol Galletly — a lawyer, professor, and researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin — says scientists “can’t afford to ignore” the new study but that it may not translate to U.S. experiences.

“As for whether I think we’d see the same thing in the U.S. … I don’t think we’d see that level of awareness of law (either case law or statutes) among a sample of MSM [men who have sex with men] in the U.S. because our HIV exposure laws and prosecutions vary so much state by state,” Galletly said in an email exchange.

Unlike Canada, where prosecutors rely on traditional criminal laws such as sexual assault, attempted murder, and murder, the U.S has a patchwork of laws specifically involving HIV. According to the Center for HIV Law and Policy, 34 U.S. states and two U.S. territories have HIV-specific criminal laws. Some of those laws criminalize failure to disclose an HIV-positive status to sexual partners — regardless of whether the virus is actually transmitted. Even in states without specific HIV statutes, prosecutors can bring charges under traditional criminal laws, such as assault with a deadly weapon charges.

Galletly says even in the most optimistic scenario, knowledge of U.S. laws — as opposed to prosecutions — would be low.

“A highly informed group in the U.S. would likely have 75 percent HIV-positive participants and under 50 percent HIV-negative participants who were aware of the law,” she says.

But, she adds, “if we asked in the U.S. if people were aware of prosecutions (not laws but prosecutions), I’m thinking these percentages would increase significantly. Most everyone has likely heard about one or more of our high profile cases.”

“Should we try to replicate this in the U.S.?,” asks Galletly. “Perhaps. Would we have the same results? I’m not sure.”

Galletly says that preliminary analysis from at least one U.S. study currently undergoing review “did not reveal a deterrent effect” on testing. According to Galletly, “Persons who were aware that their state had an HIV exposure law did not test less frequently … than their counterparts who were unaware of their state’s law.”

Until now, references to the impact of criminal prosecutions and laws on HIV testing behavior have been anecdotal. Activists have referred to the “word on the street” as “take the test, risk arrest.” In interviews with The American Independent, one tester from Indiana said that he has seen people walk away from testing after being shown paperwork detailing the state’s “duty to warn” law.

In Indiana, test subjects are required to sign a consent document for the test that explicitly outlines the impact of a positive test result and Indiana law:

“I understand that if my HIV test result is confirmed positive, I will be counseled as to my duty to notify my past and present sex and/or needle sharing partners, including any spouse … of my HIV positive status so they may arrange medical care. I will also be counseled as to my duty to notify all current and future sex and/or needle-sharing partners of my HIV positive status prior to engaging in behavior which may put them at risk per Indiana law. I understand my counseling will also include my inability to donate body fluids and tissues or sign a donor card or document. In addition, I will be informed of the benefits of early medical treatment.”

The testing agent from Indiana says that he has had clients get up and walk out of testing because of this section of the consent document (full document can be viewed here).



Comments

Michael C 07.18.12

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.

Reply
    Zuraika 08.07.12

    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.

    Reply
      Shohel 09.17.12

      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

      Reply
        Samanta 10.14.12

        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.

        Priscila 10.17.12

        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.

      Ferb 09.17.12

      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.

      Reply
        Lionel 10.14.12

        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!

        Mohammed 10.17.12

        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.

Pralhad 08.05.12

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.

Reply
    Jack 09.14.12

    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.

    Reply
      Kinga 10.14.12

      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

      Reply
ronb68 08.06.12

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.

Reply
    Vako 09.17.12

    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.

    Reply
DB 08.24.12

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.

Reply
    Alex 09.15.12

    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.

    Reply
      Namik 11.17.12

      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.

      Reply
        Guadalupe 12.27.12

        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.

    Viih 09.17.12

    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!

    Reply
      Macarena 11.19.12

      Fantastic concepts on this weibtse. Its rare these days to discover weibtses with information you are looking for. I am pleased I chanced on this webpage. I will definitely bookmark it or even register for your rss feeds simply to be updated on your new posts. Maintain up the nice job and Im sure some other folks researching valued information will actually stop by and benefit from your weibtse for resources.

      Reply
    Takanori 09.17.12

    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.)

    Reply