A new report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation shows 58 countries explicitly criminalize HIV transmission or use existing laws to prosecute people for transmitting the virus. Another 33 nations are considering similar legislation, IPPF said.
According to health officials, the trend could reverse gains made in fighting HIV/AIDS and prompt a surge in cases. "If the law is applied badly, this could set us back and do incredible damage," said Paul de Lay, a UNAIDS expert who was not involved in the report. For example, such laws could result in forced testing and drive people to hide their HIV status, allowing the virus to spread unnoticed, he said.
Since 2005, seven West African nations have passed HIV laws. In Benin, merely exposing others to HIV is a crime, even if transmission does not occur. And in Tanzania, intentional HIV transmission can lead to life imprisonment.
Poor countries are not alone in prosecuting people who spread HIV. In the United States, 32 states have laws criminalizing HIV transmission. The United Kingdom and Canada also have similar laws. "It sets a poor example in the sense that other countries may then think this is an appropriate or desirable way to deal with HIV," said Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.
"The criminal law is a blunt instrument," said Kevin Osborne, a senior HIV adviser at IPPF and one of the report's authors. "If you put everyone in prison with HIV, then you think you've controlled it. But you haven't dealt with the issues around the intimate behaviors that spread HIV."
11/13/08
GLOBAL: More Countries Make Spreading HIV a Crime
Source: Associated Press:: Maria Cheng; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention