Denmark: Criminalising HIV sufferers
01 November 1994
The Danish criminal code (para.252) has been amended following the acquittal in the Supreme Court of a man suffering from HIV who had unsafe sex with 23 women (none of whom were found to be HIV positive), and who did not tell them of his condition.
The amendment to the code says that a person who several times, and in a reckless way, endangers another person with a life-threatening or incurable disease can be sent to prison for up to four years. Opponents of the change - lawyers, gay communities and their organisations - argue that the change is discriminatory, unenforceable and dangerous.
They say it is discriminatory because it puts all the responsibility for safe sex on the shoulders of HIV-positive people and implies that they are potential "killers". It is unenforceable because it is often impossible for the police to gather evidence, and it is dangerous because potential sufferers may refrain from being tested for fear of being criminalised which in itself could lead to even more people being put at risk.
Source: Information.