Public health and criminal laws that seek to control sexual behavior exist in every state. More than half the states’ (30) laws permit prosecution of persons with HIV for exposure/transmission, all states criminalize prostitution, and sixteen criminalize sodomy. Most states require named HIV reporting and promote partner notification. Yet the impact of these laws on behavior has never been established. This three-year project uses a multi-disciplinary theory-based evaluation of the impact of criminal laws on health behavior that combines legal (deterrence and norm-setting) with a psychological (theory of planned behavior) approaches. We hypothesize whether laws and law enforcement practices influence: (1) subjective norms related to engaging in unsafe sexual behavior by influencing peers’ attitudes towards the behavior; (2) attitudes towards unsafe sexual behavior by changing the costs and benefits of the behavior; and (3) behavioral control by imposing actual or perceived limitations on the person’s ability to have risky sex. We report year one findings: (1) laws and law enforcement practices of 50 states; (2) punitiveness profile for each state based on the quantity, scope, penalties and enforcement of laws (including approximately 200 cases of prosecutions for exposure/transmission of HIV); (3) analysis of direct and indirect data on HIV risk behaviors by state; and (4) analysis of correlations between punitiveness of states and available data on sexual risk. This analysis utilizes an innovative approach and provides indirect data on the impact of law and law enforcement practices on behavior.
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will be able to group states according to punitiveness of laws and law enforcement practices related to sexual behavior. 2. Participants will be familiar with data on sexual risk by state. 3. Participants will understand correlations between punitiveness of states' laws and sexual risk data.
Keywords: Criminal Justice, HIV Risk Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.