INTENTIONAL HIV INFECTION: BE IT A CRIME? A CASE FROM ANGOLA.
Angola Government have proposed
that HIV-positive people who intentionally infect others with the virus be punished.
The proposal arouses so many conflicting public opinion. Some argue that the law to be beneficial; others say it will bring more problems than benefits.
Others say It goes against human rights and the fight against discrimination, and it won't prevent intentional infection
Lastly UNAIDS & WHO showed their opposition to such a measure, saying that it represented a step backwards in HIV prevention efforts.
Main difficulties of such a measure
Determining the intention to infect Is extremely difficult. Since it is difficult even to determine the transmission from one specific individual to another, It would be more difficult to determine whether an infection was intentional or not. "Transmitting the virus out of negligence is different from transmitting it in on purpose,"- Quoted as it states.
Such a law would worsen the damaging perception that people who contract the virus are victims and those who give it to them are their executioners. In a country where people often don't reveal their HIV-positive status out of a very real fear of rejection the measure will discourage people to take the test. . "People are going to think: 'if there's a law that says I'm going to be penalised, it's better not to know my HIV status'-Quoted as it states
So what is better? Behavior change appears to be more solid on producing reliable HIV prevention outcomes