What do you think of HIV+ people sleeping with non HIV positive people and not telling them.. ?

Can anyone think of a reason someone would do this?

I believe this is illegal if the HIV infected individual is aware it can result in a jail term - besides this it is a possible death sentence for someone & morally appalling to with hold this type of information if putting another at risk.

There is no logical reason or excuse for someone to do this, but some people who have HIV may be so angry or upset that they want to punish other people, or they want other people to go through what they are going through. Also, sometimes people with HIV feel as if they might as well continue their risky behavior because they feel as if they will die anyway.

It is illegal for someone who knows he/she has HIV to have unprotected sex with another person without first telling them about the infection. Charges may vary according to where the crime took place, but could include attempted murder.

It's not illegal unless it is unprotected.

Some people are bitter and resentful that they have contracted the virus and want to infect others. However, if you are HIV negative, you should do everything you can to stay that way. Including making your partners have tests, before sleeping with them and always use condoms. People should be responsible for their own health, and not expect someone else to do so.

The only reason I could think of, is that they hate the world for having the disease, and just don't care. It is actually illeagal for somebody knowingly having HIV to sleep with somebody noninfected, and not tell them. They could actually go to prison. Because basically it's attempted murder, if you are sleeping with somebody knowing you are giving them an infectious disease, that will end in death.

This is a large and compolicated issue that the other answers don't fully appreciate.

Disclosing HIV status to anyone can be very difficult. HIV status is intensely personal information and the act of disclosure can lead to both positive and negative results. This is why people living with HIV and AIDS (PHA) are entitled to control over this crucial decision. PHAs are entitled to the information they need to decide if, when and how they will tell other people about their HIV status (employer, healthcare workers, family/friends) --- including information about their obligations under criminal law.

The topic of disclosure of HIV status has been the subject of discussion, debate, and deliberation since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Most of the discussion and debate has been about people who do not discose their HIV status before they enagge in behaviours with a high risk of transmitting HIV (your question). The focus on HIV+ people who put others at risk of HIV transmission has distorted the discussion and made life more difficult for people with HIV. It has reinforced the climate of fear, stigma, and discrimination that surrounds HIV infection and has even resulted in violence to some PHAs. And it definitely has made it more difficult for PHAs to disclose their status.

The fact of the matter is, that this is relatively uncommon (you'd never guess by looking at the media hype). The vast majority of PHAs do not want to infect anyone and take steps to prevent this from happening. We know that most HIV transmissions occur before a person realizes they are HIV+ (an HIV+ person is at their most infectious in the first few months after being infected). In fact, 30% of people currently living with HIV HAVE NO IDEA THEY HAVE IT!!!

Simply having a law that states that it is illegal to have unprotected sex with someone, does not protect anyone. And people shouldn't have a false sense of security as a result. There is a law against theft, but that didn't stop someone from stealing my bike....

Fear of violence, fear of rejection, fear of being further stigmatized, fear of losing your family, fear of never having sex again.....there are many reasons why a person may be unwilling or unable to disclose. Issues relating to sexuality can be deep and very complicated.

Obviously, it is in everyone's best interest for a PHA to disclose their status prior to engaging in high risk activities, but the way that society continues to marginalize those with HIV, criminalize those with HIV, how do we expect people to act?

We need to address HIV stigma and discrimination and create environments where people can feel comfortable disclosing their status. One way is to make sure we are educated about HIV transmission (HIV is a relatively hard to transmit virus), and educated about what it is like to live with HIV.

It really is a tough issue!
BJC

ps. anyone who DELIBERATELY transmits their HIV infection should be dealt with under criminal law. The other 99% of HIV transmissions should be addressed under public health laws. The criminalization of HIV transmission is making the situation worse, not better. Just like it did when it was illegal to transmit chlamydia and other STIs (in Canada this was changed in the early 80's)