Male Bias in HIV Disclosure

In reading more on the current judicial landscape regarding HIV disclosure in Canada, I find myself intrigued (and equally if not more so appalled) by how completely male centric the law is.

Certainly having sex with men does raise the risk of transmission of HIV - I'm not here to refute that. But considering that women who have sex with women are, generally, less likely to engage in safe sex practices while sleeping with women (using a diaphragm, latex gloves, condoms when sharing toys etc.) it stands to reason that there is still risk present in having undisclosed sex with an HIV positive partner in those relationships, which is not adequately mentioned in the law as it currently stands.

Being that undisclosed sex -- both vaginal and anal -- are only listed as protected if the person wears a condom and their viral load is 'low', there is a fairly obvious problem for relationships in which a person may not have a 'logical' reason to wear a condom. If a lesbian couple engage in tribadism, for instance, there is still a risk of HIV transmission, but no way (short of disclosure) not to engage in aggravated sexual assault as deemed by the court regardless of viral load. Likewise, how would the law cover for a situation involving shared sex toys? Or, if a sex toy is shared and a condom is used properly, does that fall within the parameters of the law?

Now, all of this would be circumvented in the event of disclosure, obviously. And in theory, there is no obvious reason not to disclose ones status as HIV positive. But, as we've discussed in class, there are, in reality, any number of reasons to hesitate in disclosing ones sexual history. Sex workers, peoples from poorer socio-economic backgrounds, and people of colour all have much higher risks of contracting HIV, and all have reasons they may not disclose, as we've discussed in class. Considering that there are a number of women who have sex with women who may have had sex with male partners in the past, and that there is a well documented backlash against bisexuals (to say nothing of pansexuals, transsexuals, or other peoples amongst the spectrum) there are additional stigmas to contend with for members of this community when it comes to the decision to disclose.

As the law currently stands, there appears to be absolutely no way for an HIV positive woman who has sex with women to engage in sexual intercourse without disclosing for fear of potential prosecution. Regardless of viral load, or even potential steps taken to prevent contraction, there is still a clear bias written into the law as it currently stands that serves to punish an already marginalized percentage of society.