Stop jailing HIV-positive Canadians for not telling sex partners: Doctors

published on December 19, 2011 in Postmedia News

Canadians living with HIV/AIDS should no longer face a possible prison sentence for failing to disclosure their HIV status to sexual partners, says an acclaimed Canadian doctor who helped revolutionize the treatment of HIV worldwide.

Today's triple drug cocktails known as HAART, or highly active antiretroviral therapy, can reduce the viral load of people living with HIV to undetectable levels — making their risk of transmitting the virus to partners "exceedingly low," Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and colleagues write in this week's edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Despite this, Canada has witnessed "an escalation in the number of people prosecuted for allegedly exposing sexual partners to the virus," the team writes. This country "now ranks among the world leaders in the rate of such prosecutions." Yet strong scientific evidence now exists to justify doing away with routine prosecutions for HIV nondisclosure, Montaner and colleagues Dr. M-J Milloy and Thomas Kerr, write in the journal.

View the full article >>

Tags:

Treatment as Prevention®

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.

© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.