Criminal Law and Public Health Practice: Are the Canadian HIV Disclosure Laws an Effective HIV Prevention Strategy?

Abstract

Over the last few years, the number of people living with HIV who have been convicted for not disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners in Canada has been steadily increasing. Whilst these laws are criminal in nature, and not public health-based, it is important to examine their effect on public health HIV prevention efforts. To undertake such an analysis, the impact fraction model was used to structure and examine the extant literature about HIV transmission, HIV status awareness and HIV testing practices. The findings of this analysis indicate that although these laws might prevent HIV transmission in a few isolated cases, it is unlikely that they would influence overall population-level rates of HIV transmission. Some evidence even suggests that these laws could exacerbate HIV transmission.