Two-thirds of US gay men believe that it should be illegal for an HIV-positive man to have unprotected anal sex without disclosure, investigators report in the October edition of AIDS Care.
"Believing that it should be illegal was associated with HIV-negative or unknown status, less education, having a non-gay sexual orientation, living in a state that was perceived as hostile towards GLBT persons, reporting fewer UAI [unprotected anal intercourse] partners...and feeling greater responsibility", write the authors.
[snip]
The overwhelming majority (70%) of HIV-negative and untested men (69%) supported legal sanctions, but only 38% of HIV-positive men endorsed criminalisation. "These differences most likely reflect a shift in orientation toward criminal statues on HIV transmission following seroconversion", comment the investigators.
Men with the lowest educational achievements were most likely to support criminalisation (75%), and those with a degree least likely (58%).
Over three-quarters of men who did not identify as gay or bisexual supported criminalisation compared to 63% of those who had some form of gay identity.
In addition, those who were least comfortable with their sexual orientation were most likely to endorse criminalisation.
Thanks for the download. I read the article but the writer for AIDSMAP misinterepreted the study. While 60% of respondents supported criminalization of HIV positive sex, that figure cannot be generalized to the gay population at large. The study actually found that laws criminalizating HIV positive sex had no effect. For a full analysi read my Ocotober Blog at www.treatmentasprevention.blogspot.com.