Laws requiring individuals with HIV to disclose their status before sex are assumed to be in place to protect people. Often these laws are framed as protection for women. In a 2012 Supreme Court of Canada decision that made the law governing HIV non-disclosure stricter, the judges indicated a particular concern for "the trusting wife."
But the intent of a law is one thing. The impact is another.
The reality of the law related to HIV is that it endangers women on both sides of the courtroom.