NCJ Number
152566
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 28 Issue: 6 Dated: (November-December 1994) Pages: 16-22
Date Published
1994
Length
7 pages
Annotation
In 1988, the Colorado State Senate passed Bill number 8, mandating HIV testing of persons charged with and bound over for trial for penetrative sexual assault, allowing the victims access to the test results.
Abstract
Of the 221 HIV tests ordered under the bill between January 1992 and May 1994, seven (3.2 percent) were positive; all the victims were notified, and so far, none have tested HIV-positive as a result of the sexual assault. Despite its good intentions, the passage of the legislation raised many ethical, logistical, and procedural questions. This article discusses the role of the State Department of Public Health and Environment, the testing process, and program results. To minimize the quandaries related to the testing program, Colorado has implemented a cooperative, centrally administered program that reduces revictimization and breaches of confidentiality, lowers the cost of testing, and relieves the court of medical duties. To quantify the risk of HIV infection from sexual assault, future work should include well-sampled HIV prevalence studies of sexual assault offenders. 30 notes