ABSTRACT
In March 2020, allegedly as part of an “Anti-Crisis Shield” in response to Covid-19 and without public consultation, the Polish government amended the Criminal Code to increase the penalty for knowingly exposing another person to HIV from three to eight years. This change not only has no scientific justification, it also ignores transdisciplinary research demonstrating that criminalizing HIV stigmatizes those living with the condition and is counterproductive in containing infection and ensuring access to medical services for people living with or at risk of HIV (European HIV Legal Forum 2019; HIV Justice Network 2019). This decision is at variance with the increasing number of countries that have relaxed or abandoned HIV-related laws.
