Winter Park – For people with HIV, a contentious relationship, a personal misunderstanding or even a minor infraction of the law can lead to a long jail sentence, public shaming and registration as a sex offender. HIV-specific criminal charges have been filed in the United States more than 1,000 times.
About two thirds of U.S. states, territories and possessions have HIV-specific criminal statutes or STD criminal statutes that have been used to prosecute people with HIV. But people with HIV are potentially subject to prosecution for non-disclosure, potential exposure or transmission in every jurisdiction under general criminal statutes.
This complex and often misunderstood topic will be the focus of a presentation by Sean Strub at Rollins College in Winter Park on Feb. 10. Strub is a writer and long-time activist who has been living with HIV for more than 30 years.
He founded POZ Magazine, which is published about eight times a year with more than 125,000 copies distributed at thousands of doctors’ offices and AIDS service organizations nationwide. Strub co-chaired the North American regional affiliate of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+/NA) and co-founded and is a member of the Positive Justice Project.
He has been engaged in HIV-related stigma, discrimination, criminalization and empowerment issues since the earliest days of the epidemic.
Strub is also executive director of the Sero Project (SeroProject.com) a network of people with HIV and allies fighting for freedom from stigma and injustice. Sero is focused on ending inappropriate criminal prosecutions of people with HIV for non-disclosure of their HIV status, potential or perceived HIV exposure or HIV transmission.
“Unfortunately, Florida is a hotbed of these kinds of prosecutions with over 250 reported cases,” said Strub.
Florida has statues that provide for up to a maximum of five years for non-disclosure.
Actually, these laws were well meaning when they were put in place, said Strub. If you ask any room full of people, regardless of their sexual orientation or [HIV/AIDS] status if they think if should be illegal for people to knowingly spread HIV, then you’ll probably get an overwhelming response that there should be laws to guarantee that won’t happen.
He cites a health department worker in the Midwest who had 24 cases in her county and could trace at least 14 of them to a single person. Strub acknowledges that that type of behavior is irresponsible and warrants protection, but argues that the current laws are counterproductive in terms of health policy.
“They scare people into thinking that by getting tested and knowing their status they could be prosecuted if they don’t reveal their HIV status to potential partners,” Strub said. He added that it’s not a crime to pass along HIV if a person doesn’t know his or her status.
The saying “get tested, get arrested” has become all too common a street saying among people who really should know their status, Strub said.
The Sero Project has produced a brochure to educate people who are HIV-positive in ways they can protect themselves. It includes a sample affidavit that individuals can have a potential partner sign before they engage in sex.
Admittedly, the reality of the situation is that most people aren’t going to be comfortable having someone they pick up in a bar or online sign such a document, said Strub. But we include it as a way to make the point that if you are HI- positive, you need to take precautions to avoid misunderstands and possible prosecution.
Strub also has words of advice for anyone who might be thinking of pressing charges against someone who had sex with them without disclosing their HIV status.
Being HIV-positive is not a death sentence, but prosecuting someone could be,said Strub. Pressing charges against a former sex partner might feel like the right thing to do, but it can put that person in jail for decades, require them to register as a sex offender and further stigmatizes people with HIV in your community.
He also warns that people who press charges should be prepared to have personal details about their lives exposed in court and the media.
Strub is on a national tour promoting his book Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS and Survival. His Rollins appearance lasts from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 10, and it will include a reading and book signing. The event is free and open to the public.
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