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Problems with Compulsory HIV Testing

The provision for HIV testing was introduced to protect victims of sexual violence. There are however some problems with this. If the person who committed an act of sexual violence was tested for HIV during the window period his body will not indicate that he has contracted HIV yet. This means that the test results can indicate that he is HIV negative even though he is HIV positive. The negative result could therefore be false. The false test results can lead to the victim to believe that she did not contract HIV and therefore does not need to practice safe sex or use anti-retrovirals. The window period can last for up 4 to 6 weeks.

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