LogFAQs > #887978908

Criminalization serves only to fuel continued stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV, Equality California argued in a paper supporting a change in the law. These laws work against public health. They provide an incentive not to know your HIV status because you can only be prosecuted if you know you are HIV-positive. They create mistrust of public health professionals, making people who have tested HIV-positive less likely to cooperate with partner notification, treatment adherence and prevention programs. And they place HIV-negative people in harm's way by making them believe they can engage in risky behaviors without the risk.