HIV-positive singer sentenced for failing to warn sex partners

Nadja Benaissa, the HIV-positive lead singer of German pop band No Angels, has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service for having unprotected sex without warning her partners:

A German pop singer who admitted failing to tell her lovers she had the HIV virus was today handed a two-year suspended sentence after a court found her guilty of grievous bodily harm and attempted bodily harm.

Nadja Benaissa, 28, looked relieved and tearful as the verdict was passed. She could have faced up to 10 years in prison, but prosecutors called for a more lenient sentence after the singer confessed to the court that she had been "careless" and was "sorry from the bottom of my heart" for the pain she had caused.

... The discovery that she was HIV positive coincided with her sudden launch into the world of stardom and celebrity. "Within a week my whole life was turned on its head," she told the court.

Even though fellow band members knew of her HIV status, one of her top priorities had been to keep the fact secret from the wider public, particularly to protect her child, she said.

... After learning she was HIV positive, doctors advised her it was "highly unlikely" she would spread the virus if she remained healthy. "I trusted those doctors," she said.

AIDS activists often say that it's a bad idea to criminalize HIV transmission because it's the responsibility of all parties involved to be careful about sexual activity, because HIV-positive folks have enough to deal with without having to worry that they might be hauled into court for having sex -- and because if people think they might be punished for knowingly passing on HIV, then they're less likely to get tested ("what I don't know can't hurt me"). I understand and honor those arguments, though I think there still should be some responsibility on the HIV-positive partner to disclose his or her status to partners -- even if that responsibility is not encoded in law.