The Legal Needs of People Living with a Sexually Transmissible Infection or Blood-Borne Virus: Perspectives From a Sample of the Australian Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Workforce

January 2024

The recently published Health+Law article, The Legal Needs of People Living with a Sexually Transmissible Infection or Blood-Borne Virus: Perspectives From a Sample of the Australian Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Workforce, represents an important first step towards understanding the incidence and impact of unmet legal needs on people living with blood borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Australia. 

An electronic survey was administered to a sample of the Australia sexual health and BBV workforce, and identified that Migration, Housing, Money/Debt, Health (including complaints about health services), and Crime (as the accused/offender) were five of the most common legal need areas reported by BBV and STI affected clients/patients to members of the sexual health and blood-borne virus workforce who participated, with 60% of respondents describing these legal issues as generating a “severe” impact on the health of their patients or clients. 

An author on the article and partner investigator on the Health+Law project, Benjamin Riley, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at ASHM Health, highlighted the critical position health care workers are often in when it comes to their relationship with their clients and patients:  

“This critical research highlights the ways that the BBV and sexual health workforce have a broader awareness of the issues in their patients’ lives that impact health outcomes. Healthcare workers will often be the first person someone talks to about challenges in their lives, including legal issues.” 

This role of the sexual health and BBV workforce was clear in this research, with 76% of survey respondents reporting that they had been directly approached for support with a patient or client’s legal issue. 57% of those requests arose directly from the patient or client and 30% from the person’s legal representative, with the remainder from colleagues, insurance companies, or social workers. Out of those healthcare workers surveyed, none strongly agreed that they were confident in their current ability to effectively screen patients for legal issues.  

Benjamin Riley observed that: 

“These healthcare workers have identified a clear need for more support to be able to help their patients with BBVs and STIs who are experiencing legal issues. Building skills and confidence to refer patients to appropriate legal services will allow healthcare workers to provide comprehensive, person-centered care for people with BBVs and STIs.” 

You can view the article in full here and on our publications page here.