Overview
Chihuahua penalises perceived ‘exposure’ to diseases.
Article 157 of the Penal Code criminalises anyone who knows they are living with a serious disease, and who puts themselves at “risk of contagion to another” through sexual relations or other means, provided that the victim is not aware of this condition.
The penalty for this offence is six months to four years’ imprisonment and a fine of fifty to three hundred days. The maximum penalty is raised to ten years’ imprisonment and the fine increased to five hundred to two thousand days where the disease is incurable or the victim is a regular partner of the accused.
The offence is prosecuted by means of individual complaint.
Article 98 states that this provision can be prosecuted by lawsuit.
The 2017 report by the Mexican Network Against the Criminalisation of HIV suggested that there had been three HIV criminal cases in Chihuahua.
Laws
Código Penal del Estado de Chihuahu
Article 157
A person who, knowing that he or she is suffering from a serious disease during the infectious period, puts himself or herself at risk of contagion to another person through sexual relations or other transmissible means, provided that the victim is not aware of this circumstance, shall be imprisoned from six months to four years and fined from fifty to three hundred days.
If the disease suffered is incurable, or the victim is the regular partner, the penalty will be imprisonment from six months to ten years and a fine from five hundred to two thousand days. This offence will be prosecuted on the basis of a complaint.
Acknowledgements
HIV Justice Network's Positive Destinations
Visit the Chihuahua page on Positive Destinations for information on regulations that restrict entry, stay, and residency based on HIV-positive status, as well as access to HIV treatment for non-nationals.
