This project will map US state laws criminalizing the transmission (or exposure of others to risk of transmission) of HIV. Using legal databases, the two-phase research process will first map criminalization statutes, and then reported judicial findings which characterize conduct risking HIV transmission as a common law crime (e.g., as a form of reckless endangerment or of battery).
The application of criminal penalties for unintentional transmission of or exposure to HIV -- "HIV criminalization" -- continues to be an important topic in HIV policy, drawing attention from researchers and policy-makers alike. The President's 2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States has recommended that state criminal laws relating to HIV be reviewed and revised for consistency with public health principles and with current scientific understandings of HIV infection.