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Nobody is saying you should live with a scarlet letter. But you should disclose to people you're having sex with your status and let them make an informed deci

Nobody is saying you should live with a scarlet letter. But you should disclose to people you're having sex with your status and let them make an informed decision. It's worrying that this is even controversial.

ralusek 4y ago
What's more worrying is that this is controversial even in cases where people are not being treated at all. Efforts to criminalize knowingly infecting someone with HIV without their consent are very often shut down as homophobic/racist/etc.
- emiliobumachar 4y ago
  The problem with such criminalization is that it disincentivizes getting tested.
  - thaumasiotes 4y ago
    The fix for that would be to take out the 'knowingly' requirement.
  - nostromo 4y ago
    That was an issue before treatment was available. But now not dying is a very strong incentive to still get tested.
    - est31 4y ago
      Untreated HIV (usually) takes years to cause AIDS, and then takes months to years for you to die from it. Before you have AIDS, you can still start treatment, and can still enjoy a long life afterwards. That being said though, the earlier you start treatment, the better. So yes, there are still strong incentives to get tested, but people still don't get tested when having HIV is criminalized.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
School-Cotton 4y ago
I don’t really see the distinction between “having to disclose HIV status” and “living with a scarlet letter”.
- nostromo 4y ago
  having to disclose HIV status to sex partners
  - School-Cotton 4y ago
    Yes okay, so you should have a scarlet letter only visible to people with whom you have a class of relationship that is particularly fundamental for human happiness.
    - eyelidlessness 4y ago
      If you’re having consensual sex, you should be able to discuss the risks with your sex partner. It isn’t a scarlet letter to discuss the fact that you have a disease which is understood to be currently noncommunicable. It’s discussed openly in communities with high risk factors. Keeping known risk factors from your partners is a betrayal of their trust effectively on par with violation of their consent. It denies them the possibility to even determine whether they understand the risks they’re taking. It further denies them the ability to evaluate that risk over time as their partners’ input to that risk might evolve. None of this is specific to HIV! This is basic interpersonal responsibility as taught to middle school children basically everywhere that doesn’t have a severely toxic anti-sex culture. Clear and honest communication about risk of disease is essential to healthy, consensual sex. And that’s been known since at least when I was a teenager well back into the last century.

ralusek 4y ago

What's more worrying is that this is controversial even in cases where people are not being treated at all. Efforts to criminalize knowingly infecting someone with HIV without their consent are very often shut down as homophobic/racist/etc.

emiliobumachar 4y ago
The problem with such criminalization is that it disincentivizes getting tested.
- thaumasiotes 4y ago
  The fix for that would be to take out the 'knowingly' requirement.
- nostromo 4y ago
  That was an issue before treatment was available. But now not dying is a very strong incentive to still get tested.
  - est31 4y ago
    Untreated HIV (usually) takes years to cause AIDS, and then takes months to years for you to die from it. Before you have AIDS, you can still start treatment, and can still enjoy a long life afterwards. That being said though, the earlier you start treatment, the better. So yes, there are still strong incentives to get tested, but people still don't get tested when having HIV is criminalized.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

School-Cotton 4y ago

I don’t really see the distinction between “having to disclose HIV status” and “living with a scarlet letter”.

nostromo 4y ago
having to disclose HIV status to sex partners
- School-Cotton 4y ago
  Yes okay, so you should have a scarlet letter only visible to people with whom you have a class of relationship that is particularly fundamental for human happiness.
  - eyelidlessness 4y ago
    If you’re having consensual sex, you should be able to discuss the risks with your sex partner. It isn’t a scarlet letter to discuss the fact that you have a disease which is understood to be currently noncommunicable. It’s discussed openly in communities with high risk factors. Keeping known risk factors from your partners is a betrayal of their trust effectively on par with violation of their consent. It denies them the possibility to even determine whether they understand the risks they’re taking. It further denies them the ability to evaluate that risk over time as their partners’ input to that risk might evolve. None of this is specific to HIV! This is basic interpersonal responsibility as taught to middle school children basically everywhere that doesn’t have a severely toxic anti-sex culture. Clear and honest communication about risk of disease is essential to healthy, consensual sex. And that’s been known since at least when I was a teenager well back into the last century.