Impact of Failing to Disclose and Criminalization on People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) in the United States

Since the 1983, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) have had to overcome insurmountable challenges and hurdles to ensure survivability. With the advent of effective treatments, it appeared that PLWH/A would have the opportunity to live a “normal” life. But stigmatization in the form of laws that criminalize non-disclosure and the transmission of HIV have the potential to dismantle the efforts the PLWH/A community has made to ensure that PLWH/A are treated with dignity and respect. This presentation will include: 1) The history of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and transmission in the US; 2) The role of existing criminal laws in the US; 3) How these laws have been applied across various states in terms of the number of prosecutions and convictions under these laws; 4) The differences between consensual and non-consensual behavior, misconceptions about transmission risk, and the need to address behaviors that do not present a risk of HIV transmission; and 5) How the field of public health should respond. The presentation will also include an examination of a new resource manual that outlines protocols for legal and community advocates when PLWH/A face criminal prosecution for non-disclosure. The purpose of the resource manual is to help legal advocates, community advocates and PLWH/A respond to the criminal justice system and the media coverage that inevitably will follow as well as helping PLWH/A facing prosecution and their counsel to understand their rights and protections under the law. Finally, the presentation will end with a discussion about possible alternatives to HIV criminalization.