Criminal liability

I’ve heard that people with HIV can no longer be prosecuted. Is this true?

Under current law, anyone who is undergoing treatment, who practices safe sex or who lets their sexual partners know they have HIV can no longer be prosecuted.

People who have an undetectable viral load at the time of having unprotected sex no longer tend to be prosecuted either. This also applies if they didn’t tell their partner about their HIV status before having sex.

Would a person living with HIV and a detectable viral load still be committing a criminal offence if they have unprotected sex?

People living with HIV with a detectable viral load who don’t tell their partner about their HIV status before having unprotected sex can be prosecuted for grievous bodily harm under Article 122 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB). This applies even if the other person has not been infected (known as attempted grievous bodily harm).

If the person living with HIV informs their partner about their HIV status and that person consents to having unprotected sex, they are not committing an offence. Consent can be difficult to prove, however.

Detailed information can be found in the Legal Guide HIV (chapter «Criminal Law»).