HIV education and the law: a critical review

So far, the law has been used more to limit than to encourage effective HIV education. In this article, I will discuss how the law has largely failed as a tool for compelling the government to educate effectively, and, indeed, has provided only lukewarm protection against the chilling effect of official ambivalence about explicit education. I will begin with a review of current approaches to HIV education and the education efforts of the first decade of the epidemic. I will conclude with a discussion of the role of courts and legislatures as health educators.