Impact of HIV criminal laws in California

Background: Laws that criminalize otherwise legal conduct or that increase penalties of criminal conduct based on a person’s HIV status (HIV criminal laws) contribute to the stigmatization of people living with HIV (PLWH).  Stigma and fear regarding HIV discourage testing, treatment seeking, disclosure and proper disease management, all of which contribute to poor individual health outcomes and challenges to controlling the spread of HIV.  Methods: Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) data were obtained from the California Department of Justice on all instances in which individuals came in contact with the California criminal system under several HIV criminal laws.  These data are being analyzed based on demographic and case information to determine the impact of HIV criminal laws.  Results: Over 3,500 individuals came in contact with the criminal system under several HIV criminal laws from 1989 to 2014.  These people ranged in age from 12 to 75 at the time of the incident, and were disproportionately African American.  The data are still being analyzed for the extent of criminal proceedings (e.g. arrest, prosecution, conviction and sentencing) and the context of the HIV-specific incidents within these individuals’ overall criminal records.  Conclusions: HIV criminalization affects children as young as 12 and disproportionately impacts African Americans.  A public health harm reduction model rather than a penal model could improve population health, particularly among African Americans and young people who are at higher risk for HIV transmission.  This presentation will target a lay audience but may interest those with legal expertise.