(Vienna)  There is a tug-of-war going on with governments trying to criminalize the transmission of HIV on one side, and activists who say such laws are not only ineffective as a deterrent but are also harming the fight against AIDS, on the other.

"There is no evidence of criminal law application serving HIV prevention goals, instead [it] has a negative impact on access to HIV services," Pavel Aksenov, of the Russian Harm Reduction Network (RHRN), said in a debate on criminalizing HIV at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria.

A 2008 article by the Soros Foundation's Open Society Initiative, said laws criminalizing HIV exposure and transmission make HIV-negative people complacent by placing the burden of responsibility solely on those living with the virus.

Such laws can also damage efforts to increase HIV testing rates by creating mistrust of health service providers who may, according to some of the new legislation, report a person's HIV status to their partner, or even testify against them in court.

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