The Criminalization of HIV Non-Disclosure in Canada: Current Status and the Need for Change

This document provides an overview of the current laws and policies governing HIV non-disclosure in Canada. Sections include:

  • A legal obligation to disclose HIV-positive status to a sexual partner in some circumstances
  • What does “realistic possibility” of transmission mean? When is there no legal obligation to disclose?
  • Recent developments in law and policy
    • Federal and provincial developments in prosecutorial policy
    • Sex with a suppressed viral load
    • Sex with a condom
    • Sex with a low viral load (and no condom)
    • Oral sex
  • The science of HIV in the context of the criminal law
  • Why are people charged with aggravated sexual assault for consensual sex?
  • Why is HIV criminalization considered harmful?
  • International guidance on HIV and the criminal law
  • HIV prosecutions in Canada
  • Community mobilization for change: the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization
Author
Topics
Language