Should people with HIV have to disclose illness before sex?
Posted October 4, 2012 9:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Should an HIV-positive person have to disclose their condition before having sex with someone new?
The Supreme Court of Canada is poised to deliver a ruling on that very question Friday.
As it stands now, people living with HIV are required by law to tell any partners about their condition, and if they don’t, they risk going to jail.
But Ken Buchanan with the Positive Living Society of BC says this is a health issue, not a criminal one.
“It shouldn’t be to just the HIV positive people to discuss and to be open about it. It should be up to everybody. People who aren’t HIV positive should be asking the question ‘Do you have HIV?'”
He points out HIV is no longer a death sentence, and with medication, the condition is almost undetectable, with virtually no chance of passing it along to a sex partner. But he says the stigma remains.
“There’s still huge discrimination around admitting that you are HIV positive, whether it’s work wise, or finding a place to live, never mind a partner, or boyfriend or girlfriend.”
The Supreme Court was asked to look into the question after two HIV-positive people appealed their aggravated assault convictions.
