Scan your local newspapers or listen to the network news and eventually you will read or hear a story about an HIV infected person being prosecuted for exposing their sex partner to HIV without disclosing their HIV status. In those stories the person being tried is identified by name and many times a photograph is included in the story. I often wonder where the news reporting ends and confidentiality begins. By identifying the men and women by name and photo, is the media breaching their medical confidentiality? Is it ethical to disclose these HIV positive people's diagnosis even when they are being accused and prosecuted for a crime? I have thought about this and to be honest I have yet to take a stance...it's a tough question. I would love to hear your opinion on the matter. Share your comments...shed some new light on this tricky issue.Related Topics
Absolutely the person who is poz should not be identified and particularly they should not have their picture in the paper. This could lead to all kinds of harassment. They protect minors for this very reason. You sign a confidentiality agreement at a doctor’s office and a hospital, etc. on who to disclose to, or even if you want to disclose at all. This same protection should be afforded to HIV poz people. They dont even publish the names of Johns picked up soliciting prostitutes. To protect their identity. This is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned. Being charged with a crime is not the same as being convicted of a crime. But everyone knows just being charged sometimes can wreck a person’s life even if they are ultimately acquitted. You are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law not the court of public opinion.