In France, HIV contamination is not as such an offense, because the offense does not have its own legal framework. A 63-year-old man was however sentenced to three years in prison for “administering a harmful substance resulting in permanent disability”. Tried by the Perpignan Criminal Court on Wednesday, September 19, the defendant had not informed his companion of his illness. Absent at the hearing, an arrest warrant was issued against him. The information appeared in the local newspaper The Independent.
In August 2013, his partner moved with him to the Pyrénées-Orientales. A few weeks later, she contracted the virus. His companion immediately leaves. Faced with the impossibility of having explanations, she lodged a complaint. Investigation reveals that his previous wife had already left him after discovering the illness that was also hidden from her. However, he had been treated for his HIV status for thirteen years. The prosecutor requested a 30-month prison sentence, six of which was suspended. The tribunal has therefore gone beyond requisitions.
Article 222-15 of the Penal Code
In that case, the 63-year-old man was aware of his illness and knew that sexual intercourse could transmit the virus. Article 222-15 of the Penal Code, which condemns this “administration of harmful substances having harmed the physical or mental integrity of others” – that is to say the transmission of any disease. or – could therefore be applied. But it’s not always the case. It must be possible to demonstrate that the perpetrator was acting with knowledge of the facts, even if he did not intend to infect his or her partner.
The penalty can also reach 10 years in correctional detention and 15 years before an assize court. In Italy, an HIV-positive man was even sentenced to 24 years in prison for having deliberately infected around 30 women in less than 10 years. In France, around fifteen cases resulted in judgments ranging from a few months’ suspended imprisonment to 9 years in prison (2011).
Denmark and some US states have created a specific offense for transmitting the HIV virus. Other countries punish people with HIV for the simple fact of exposing their partner without warning them, even if they were not responsible for the infection.
- Ten years in prison for deliberately transmitting AIDS
- For 10 years, a man hides his HIV status from his girlfriend for fear of losing her
