Records Reveal HIV Testing Inconsistencies in Salt Lake City
The enforcement of HIV testing requirements for sex workers and solicitors in Salt Lake City is being called into question after a recent review of court documents revealed faulty recordkeeping and communication among criminal justice and health agencies, The Salt Lake Tribune reports (sltrib.com, 4/28).
According to the article, Utah state law—put into place in 1993—requires that anyone convicted of prostitution or sexual solicitation receive an HIV test prior to sentencing. However, a vice sergeant with the Salt Lake City Police Department told The Tribune that the department had not received any HIV test results from the health department over the past three years. In addition, police and health officials do not always keep track of sex worker and client aliases, making it virtually impossible to keep track of those who have tested positive.
“We need to be more diligent on this,” says Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill. “There’s a breakdown in making sure there is a centralized database [by] which law enforcement can gather that information.”
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I think that it's OK to be angry. I am sometimes—it's natural—we are HIV positive. but I always try to not let myself stay there too long. Let yourself feel you are human. You should not beat yourself up about being angry."
