Health : Sexually transmitted diseases

April 23, 2008: in Chennai, a minor girl was infected with HIV when a 48 year-old HIV-positive man raped her. In December 2007, Bombay High Court ordered an investigation after a woman filed a case against her husband who didn’t disclose his HIV status before marriage despite undergoing a treatment. These are those few cases of criminal transmission of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) that made it to a headline unlike several other cases which are suppressed behind the closed doors to avoid social stigma and exclusion.

As per data published by UNAIDS in 2011, the total HIV cases in India are close to 2.5 million. However, most of the males despite knowing their HIV status rarely disclose it to their partners and thus end up infecting them without any fault of theirs. Most of the females who are found HIV-positive in India contract the virus from their husbands or their partners. Largely due to ignorance, many women don't resist against any kind of unsafe or unprotected sex, especially during relationships and thus eventually get infected. There have been several cases where an HIV-positive male marries a woman without informing her about the disease. In many cultures, people believe that having sex with a virgin would cure the infection and thus they go ahead infecting not only a woman but an entire generation. A recent NACO report has revealed that close to 40,000 pregnant women are HIV infected and around 12,000 HIV infected children are born every year in India. Worst, in many cases, people resort to rape and molestation in frustration after finding about their infection status.

In order to curb such an on-going practice, we urgently need legislation that would punish any individual who opts for unprotected sex in spite of being aware of his/her infection status. This would not only save millions who get infected due to domestic or marital pressure but would also prevent mother-to-child infection. Given the fact that HIV is incurable, such an act is nothing less than a culpable homicide or an attempt to murder. Many nations have various legislations for criminal transmission of sexual diseases. Australia has criminalised any reckless transmission of sexual infection with New South Wales making it compulsory for HIV-positive individuals to disclose their status to ‘all’ of their sexual partners. Canada treats such acts at par with sexual assaults and charges the accused with first degree murder. Same is with nations like Finland, New Zealand, UK, US and many others.

In any given circumstances, irresponsible transmission of such infections is not only an abuse of human rights but also a threat to the society – especially where these diseases are still a social stigma. Such legislations will definitely go a long way in curbing criminal transmission of STDs and above all, make sexual relationships more humane. A strict and stringent legislation would deter millions from cheating on their partners or hiding their infection status. Eventually, transparency and safe sex would allow the partners to seek expert counselling and thus would reduce accidental transmission which in turn would save several lives.