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Melbourne man found guilty of HIV infections |
 Safe sex is an individual and shared responsibility.
Michael Neal, 49, of Coburg, told the court he used beats to spread HIV and arranged “conversion” parties to infect people.
Neal’s lawyer said his client denied infecting or intending to infect others with HIV and acting recklessly.
Neal is to be sentenced at a later date.
Brett Hayhoe, president of PLWHA Victoria, is currently attending the seventeenth International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.
He told MCV cases like Neal’s, "while terrible” for the people infected, needed to be put into perspective.
“The majority of HIV positive people would be horrified to hear this,” he said.
“I’m not going to deny that [behaviour like Neal’s] exists, but it’s not widespread. There are laws in place to deal with cases like this, but some human beings are less diligent in relation to the law than others.”
According to Hayhoe, cases like Neal’s have the potential to push positive people back into the closet and alarm those who do not know their HIV status.
“It can stop them from testing, because it’s better not to know.”
He said a positive aspect of Neal’s case was that it could serve as a wake-up call.
“People need to remember that safe sex is an individual and shared responsibility. But that’s not to trivialise the situation of these [infected] people, it’s terrible for them.”
Simon Donohoe, acting executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, said it was “morally wrong to place someone at risk of contracting a serious illness of any kind”.
“As we all know, there are rogues in all communities – the gay community is no different in this regard – however, these type of cases are extremely rare.
“This case demonstrates that the current legislative frameworks that are in place, which are designed to deal with these type of rare situations, are working properly.”
Donohoe said avoiding HIV infection is a shared responsibility.
“Unless you can be 100 per cent sure that your partner's HIV status is the same as yours, condoms and water-based lube should always be used.”
According to PLWHA Victoria, a person who intentionally causes another person to be infected with a "very serious disease", including HIV, is guilty of a crime and liable to a maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to 25 years.
In Victoria, the offence of "conduct endangering life" has been used to charge HIV-positive people who place others at risk of HIV infection. This charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
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