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Positive Justice Project: HIV Criminalization Fact Sheet. (2010, December 2). // The Center for HIV Law and Policy //. Retrieved August 14, 2012, from http://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/resources/view/560 Facts: 1.Currently there are 36 states and 2 U.S. territories that explicitly criminalize HIV exposure through sex, shared needles, and, in some jurisdictions, through "bodily fluids", including saliva. 2.HIV-positive persons increasingly are forced to register as sex offenders after conviction, leading to a host of life-long problems with future employment, living conditions, and the right to privacy.(D) 3.Proof of intent to transmit HIV, or actual transmission, typically are not elements of these prosecutions. 4.Common in these cases is severe ignorance of the routes and actual risk of HIV transmission in varying circumstances, and grossly exaggerated characterizations of the risk of harm defendants pose. 5.In some states, health officials actually participate in creation of evidence that can be used against individuals with HIV, by requiring them to sign forms acknowledging criminal liability if they engage in certain otherwise-legal conduct. 6.Sex between two consenting adults is a shared decision; the responsibility for protection against disease should not be borne by one partner. Placing exclusive responsibility on the person living with HIV undermines public health messages that everyone should take responsibility for individual sexual health. 7.Criminalization further stigmatizes an already marginalized population, and reinforces ignorance and unfounded beliefs about the routes and actual risks of HIV transmission. 8.The common factor in all of these cases is that the criminal defendant knew her/his HIV status. 9.HIV exposure laws are applied unfairly and selectively, targeting those who are socially and economically marginalized, such as sex workers, while those with other STIs or infectious diseases are not targeted.(D) 10.Sentences for people convicted of HIV exposure are typically very harsh and grossly disproportionate to any actual or potential harm, perpetuating the misconception that people with HIV are toxic, highly infectious and dangerous. 11.Health care providers frequently are forced to disclose HIV-related medical records, including documentation of private communications, as part of a criminal investigation or trial, interfering with the physician-patient relationship and delivery of health services and generating mistrust among patients. 12.Studies show that the criminalization of HIV exposure has no effect on risk behavior. 13.HIV criminalization can discourage individuals from seeking testing and treatment because a positive test result subjects a person to criminal liability for otherwise non-criminal conduct. 14.Disclosure is often the only affirmative defense to prosecution, but typically is difficult to prove. Condom use is rarely a defense. 15.Charges for HIV exposure often are accompanied by sensationalist media coverage, which often includes disclosure of the HIV-positive person’s identity, disclosing the person’s HIV status not only to the individual’s community but also, with the internet, to the world.(D)