US: POZ Magazine criminalisation survey underway

POZ Magazine is currently surveying its readers about the impact of criminal HIV exposure and transmisison laws on their lives.

Entitled, 'Crime, Punishment and HIV', the questions that address HIV-positive individuals' experiences should provide the most useful results. These include:

• Have you ever told someone that you are HIV positive and later had him or her say you did not?
  
• Does the fear of being criminalized for not disclosing your HIV status hinder your sex life?
• Do you, as an HIV-positive person, fear being criminalized for not disclosing your status?
• Does the fear of being criminalized make you less comfortable telling other people, particularly sexual partners, about your status?

I'm not so convinced about the utility of some of the questions around beliefs regarding what others might be doing (e.g. Does the fear of being criminalized keep people who don’t know their HIV status from getting tested? and Do you believe criminalizing HIV transmission hinders positive people from seeking treatment?)

Nevertheless, POZ has the largest readership of any website/magazine aimed at people living with HIV and the survey should provide an interesting snapshot of views and opinions as well as some valuable data.

The survey can be accessed here.