Not Rex: Criminalizing people with HIV doesn’t protect public health

This week on Not Rex, Shawn Syms argues: Sexually active people with HIV are not intrinsically devious and dangerous. No more so than all redheads are. Or any other definable group.

Has a person with HIV ever deliberately deceived someone about their status and intentionally, maliciously passed on the virus? Yes. But in Canada, the law casts the net far, far wider than that, locking up people with HIV who’ve never harmed anyone.

Alex Samur

Alex Samur

Alexandra Samur was rabble.ca’s managing editor from 2010 to 2012, books and blogs editor from 2007 to 2012. Alex’s career in independent media spans more than a decade and includes stints...

Shawn Syms

Shawn Syms

Shawn Syms has written about sexuality, culture and politics for more than 20 years.