What if there was a law that criminalized sneezing in public? Sneezing can transmit influenza, and if we prevent everyone from sneezing in public - we could prevent flu from spreading, right?
This seemingly ridiculous analogy represents how unethical and ineffective HIV criminalization is. Luckily, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is recommending reformation to eliminate these anachronistic laws. On July 15, 2014, the U.S. White House released an updated press release on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which includes the aforementioned recommedations.
| 2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategy Goals |
| 1. Reduce new HIV infections. |
| 2. Increase access to care and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV. |
| 3. Reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequalities. |
The original comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy was released on July 15, 2010 by President Obama's office. Since then, there have been improvements in promoting HIV prevention and decreasing HIV stigma in the past few years, including updated USPSTF recommendations for screening all persons ages 15-65. This "Grade A" recommendation requires coverage of HIV testing by all new health plans under the Affordable Care Act without cost sharing.
The new actions to support the National HIV/AIDS Strategy include:
- Department of Health and Human Services made $11 million available in funding for Community Health Centers' HIV efforts in high prevalence communities, especially among racial and ethnic minorities
- Department of Justice (DOJ) release of a "Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-specific Criminal Laws to Align with Scientifically Supported Factors."
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| Source: Positive Justice Project |
Essentially, the report examines how most laws that criminalize HIV, although originally created to protect public health, are not supported by scientific evidence of risk and transmission. Furthermore, many were passed before antiretroviral therapy or pre-exposure prophylaxis were developed. Therefore, the DOJ encourages states to rexamine these laws with current evidence regarding transmission risk, ensuring that policies do not specifically stigmatize people living with HIV.
Does your state have inappropriate laws that should be re-examined?
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is an MPH student at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Her research interests include routine HIV testing, health disparities, women's reproductive issues, and sexually transmitted infections.
