Watch a previous NBC4 report on Ohio’s HIV-criminalization laws in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — At least 214 Ohioans were charged from 2014 to 2020 under state laws criminalizing HIV, with nearly 80 who faced prosecution under a statute that seeks prison time for those who fail to disclose their HIV status to sexual partners. 

Seventy-seven cases were litigated under a felonious assault charge that penalizes those with HIV for engaging in sexual conduct without divulging their medical history, according to a report by Equality Ohio and the Ohio Health Modernization Movement. The offense can result in a second-degree felony conviction, carrying a $15,000 fine and a two-to-eight-year prison sentence.

More than half, 120 cases, charged the defendants for exposing others to their bodily fluid, like by spitting or biting. The remaining 17 cases from 2014 to 2020 were related to sex work, under solicitation and prostitution laws that can penalize HIV-positive Ohioans for activities that don’t lead to the transmission of the virus.

All 214 charges originate under six Ohio laws that were passed to reduce transmission and end the AIDS epidemic. However, the statutes have not been reviewed by the legislature since the 1990s and are “outdated” given they do not reflect current scientific understanding of HIV, the report argues.

“In most situations that these laws target, there is little to no risk of transmitting HIV to another person,” Equality Ohio and OHMM’s report says. “In fact, none of these laws require actual transmission, the intent to transmit, or even the possibility of transmission.”

These claims are backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which states HIV is not spread through saliva or unbroken skin and there are no documented cases of the virus spreading through spitting. Those living with HIV also cannot pass the virus through sex when they have reached an undetectable level of HIV in their blood, achieved through medication estimated to be 100% effective. 

Still, not only did the report find that these statutes are being enforced in Ohio, but also that the enforcement is largely uneven based on where an individual is located. At least 56 cases occurred in Cuyahoga County, while the other most-represented counties include Hamilton County with 26 cases, Lucas County with 16, Franklin County with 15 and Montgomery and Warren counties with 10 cases.

There is also a significant racial disparity between individuals charged under HIV-criminalization laws when compared to the general population, the report states. While 12.5% of Ohioans identified as Black in the 2020 census, Black defendants accounted for more than 35% of those prosecuted between 2014 and 2020.

The report follows a recent federal ruling that struck down a provision requiring health insurance to provide free preventative care services in Ohio like PrEP, a once-daily pill taken to reduce a patient’s likelihood of developing HIV from sex or injection drug use. Nearly 9,000 Ohioans are taking a form of PrEP while more than 27,000 Ohioans are living with HIV, according to data from AIDSVu and the Ohio Department of Health. 

Equality Ohio and OHMM are now calling for reform of the state’s provisions, arguing the disparate enforcement of HIV-positive Ohioans being charged and convicted under these laws evidence a compelling need to modernize these laws. Legislative review is a key next step in ensuring that Ohio laws related to HIV are fair, the two organizations said.

“Behind each of these cases, there is a real Ohioan who has been affected,” the report states. “The disparate enforcement and impact of charges under these laws evidence a compelling need to modernize these laws so that they reflect accurate science regarding the routes and risks of transmission of HIV.”