HIV Stigma Can Be More Dangerous Than The Disease Itself

In the past 20 years the medical implications of an HIV diagnosis have changed completely, almost miraculously. Antiretroviral drugs allow people living with HIV to have unprotected sex without passing the virus to their partners, to have HIV-negative children and to live healthy lives well into old age.

In fact, in 2016 the stigma surrounding HIV is probably more life-threatening than HIV itself. The fear of being “outed” as HIV positive stops a lot of people from seeking treatment. A delay in treatment allows the virus to spread, and in many cases, leads to death.

Stigma has many causes, one of which is a genuine fear of contagion. Despite the fact that HIV is now a treatable condition, “educational” messages on HIV prevention are still based on fear, and almost universally exaggerate the risks of HIV infection and its consequences.

Most people think that HIV is transmitted easily through unprotected sex, though the transmission rate is less than one per cent per act. When a person is taking antiretroviral drugs, the virus is suppressed and transmission is nearly impossible. Many of us still seem to view HIV as a life-threatening disease rather than a relatively mild condition.

In Canada, a person who is diagnosed with HIV and has unprotected sex can be sent to jail for aggravated sexual assault, even if they are taking medication and are virally suppressed. Such criminal convictions are based on and perpetuate misinformation. When it comes to HIV prevention, proper adherence to antiretroviral drugs is actually more effective than condoms.

What’s more, Canadian policy specifically discourages testing and treatment, because a diagnosis makes you criminally responsible. Treatment prevents the spread of HIV, so a policy that criminalizes HIV transmission could actually increase the spread of the virus. Even worse — high-risk individuals (those who frequently engage in unprotected sex) are the most susceptible to a conviction and therefore the least likely to get tested and treated. In November, the United Nations urged Canada to limit criminalization to cases of intentional transmission.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below