My blog is on an interesting article
posted by the Huffington Post titled: Think HIV is Not a Crime? Think Again.
This article explains how an unfathomable stigma and discrimination is a way of
life for those infected with HIV. Not only is this a social problem but now a
legal issue also. It begins by telling the story of Robert Suttle, an advocate
against HIV criminalization who has experienced multiple forms of discrimination
as a young African American. Robert was born in Louisiana, a state with the
highest incarceration rate than any other state in the U.S. and the highest
rates of young American males infected with HIV. Robert is a Louisiana State University
graduate and had plans to serve in the Air Force until he received a rejection
due to testing positive to HIV. He went to work for Louisiana’s Second Circuit
Court of Appeal as an assistant clerk and was about to become the 1st
black male deputy clerk in that court. His life quickly changed when a previous
partner filed criminal charges against him for not disclosing that he had HIV
at the beginning of their relationship. Robert was prosecuted under a Louisiana
law that requires people with HIV to disclose having HIV before sexual
relations even if there was no chance of transmitting HIV. He took a plea
bargain with a sentence of six months instead of chancing the possibility of a
10-year sentence. Now through the year 2024, Robert has to register as a sex
offender and his driver’s license must bear the words “SEX OFFENDER” in red
capital letters under his photo. There are thousands of HIV-specific criminal
charge cases filed around the country. Out of 35 states Louisiana and Iowa are
the only two with criminal statuses that apply exclusively to people infected
with HIV. According to the author of this article, Sean Strub there is no proof
that these statuses reduce the transmission of HIV. A survey by the Sero
Project was conducted in the U.S. on 2,000 people infected with HIV which resulted
with close to a quarter of the responses revealing knowing at least one
individual that feared taking the HIV test due to the possibility of prosecution
if the results were positive.
According to the Center for Disease and
Control Prevention, Thirty three states have one or more HIV-specific criminal
exposure laws. The Global Commission on HIV and the Law reported that the U.S.
convicts more people that are infected with HIV for transmission than any other
country. This report also states that Canada is the next largest and Sweden and
Norway hold the highest conviction rate compared to the HIV-positive
population.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-strub/lgbt-hiv-criminalization_b_2039539.html?utm_hp_ref=crime&ir=Crime
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