Press Room

November 23, 2023

We refer to the articles published in The Straits Times and TODAY on 21 Nov 2023. These articles reported that a transgender sex worker was sentenced to over three years’ jail for failing to disclose his HIV status to three sexual partners.

It is neither effective nor equitable to lay the responsibility for disease prevention solely on persons living with HIV (PLHIV). Sexual health should be a shared responsibility between partners regardless of their HIV status. This includes adopting HIV prevention strategies, like the proper use of condoms and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). These practices are highly effective in preventing HIV and are especially important when you are unsure of your partner’s sexual history.

From a public health perspective, there is no evidence that criminalising the non-disclosure of one’s HIV status can stop the spread of the virus in the community. On the contrary, according to UNAIDS[1] and US CDC[2], punitive laws are more likely to prevent access to HIV services. Such laws disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and increase stigma against PLHIV, and they also discourage people from seeking HIV testing and treatment.

We must continue to address social and legal barriers that stigmatise PLHIV and make people fearful of testing and treatment. In fact, the UNAIDS has called for the removal of punitive laws that criminalise HIV non-disclosure, same-sex relationships, sex work, and drug use, to create more supportive legal and policy environments to end the HIV epidemic.

As we commemorate World AIDS Day on 1st December, we should renew our commitment to ending HIV by combating stigma and focusing our efforts on improving access to HIV education, prevention and treatment for everyone.

Professor Roy Chan
President, Action for AIDS Singapore

Dr Rayner Tan
President, Project X

References:

[1] HIV criminalization — Human rights fact sheet series (2 Jun 2021) https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2021/01-hiv-human-rights-factsheetcriminalization

[2] US CDC, HIV Criminalization and Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US (updated 19 Jan 2023) https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/policies/law/criminalization-ehe.html

Link to letter published on ST Forum: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-not-fair-to-lay-responsibility-for-disease-prevention-solely-on-persons-with-hiv