HIV and Women: Incongruent Policies, Criminal Consequences

The author argues that UN Women must take an aggressive role in the standardization of health laws and policies in order to ensure that these laws and policies do not have negative or criminal consequences on the lives of women and girls, in particular those that are HIV-positive. Specifically, the article examines the criminalization of HIV transmission as well as public health policies that have the effect of making women vulnerable to persecution. The author uses the example of American courts' treatment of issues raised by HIV-positive women in the context of parenting and motherhood as a case study.