Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and criminal liability for infection with a venereal disease

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the latest edition:

Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Infection with a venereal disease

1. Infection of another person with a venereal disease by a person who knew about the presence of this disease, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to eighteen months, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred and eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or by arrest for a term of up to six months.

2. The same act committed against two or more persons or against a minor, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to two years.

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Comments on Article 121

Compared to the previously existing law, the subject of the crime is a person suffering from a sexually transmitted disease who knows about it. The circumstance must be established taking into account the data of the person’s objective knowledge of the presence of the disease. For example, he should have found out about this after undergoing tests, examination, treatment, and inclusion in the dispensary register.

Comments:

The method of infection can be different - sexual intercourse, deliberate neglect, violation of the rules of everyday behavior in the family. This obviously puts others at risk of infection.
The subjective side is direct or indirect intent. The victim’s consent to contract a sexually transmitted disease is not a direct basis excluding liability under the example of Art. 122. But at the same time, if there is such a basis, the release of a criminal, for example, for HIV infection, is inconsistent, but leaves the decision to the discretion of the law enforcement officer.
The crime is over at the moment of infection.
In the 2nd part of the article, qualified signs are indicated: the commission of a crime against persons under 16 years of age, 2 or more people.
The victim is another person. The objective side is infection with a disease. Infection is the transmission of a disease to persons during sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbianism. Sexually transmitted diseases – syphilis, inguinal lymphogranulomatosis. The known danger of infection has now been decriminalized, although previously in the RSFSR it was criminally punishable under Article 115.

If the culprit had the intention of infecting another person with the disease, but this did not happen, then the classification occurs as an attempted infection - Art. 30 and 121. Subject is a sane person over 16 years of age. A person is considered capable of infecting another during illness, in hospital, until deregistration.

Infection is characterized by direct, indirect intent, and frivolity. Negligence is excluded from the subjective side, since the perpetrator must know about the contagious disease, but, despite this, enters into contact or contact with persons. In this case, the criminal sees the possibility of infecting another person.

Contracting a disease means causing harm without bodily injury. This is an infectious route that often causes mild harm to health. The article is special, it describes the specific harm of causing harm, therefore, in case of competition, additional qualification under Article 115. doesn't come. If serious or moderate harm was caused (termination of pregnancy) in the presence of subjective grounds, we can talk about a combination of crimes. The crime is additionally qualified under Article 111 or 112.

If infection serves as a circumstance of another crime (consequence of rape - Art. 131), then the act is covered by a more complete norm, then Art. 121. does not apply.

The act falls into the category of minor gravity. Qualifications are not affected by:

type of disease;
duration of treatment;
methods of infection.

A person's conviction that he is completely cured frees him from criminal liability. This can be achieved by providing him with certificates from a medical institution or false test results. Infection of 2 or more persons can be simultaneous or at different times. The article does not define the punishment for contracting AIDS; the measure of responsibility is regulated by Article 122.

If a person has infected another with an infection other than a sexually transmitted disease, qualification under the article is excluded. To establish this, a medical examination is carried out. To initiate a case, the victim must contact the skin and venereal disease clinic and submit an application indicating the name of the suspect. The medical organization must oblige the accused to undergo an examination. Afterwards, the court or police will request original certificates from the hospital and analyze the period of infection and the course of the disease. Based on all the facts, a decision will be made regarding criminal prosecution.

If a person knows that he is infected, then he needs to inform his partner and relatives about the disease, refuse sex until complete recovery, and follow the rules of hygiene and protection. Failure to comply with such rules in case of infection of others will result in criminal liability.

What categories of diseases does the Criminal Code regard as venereal?

Any actions aimed at infecting another person with an unpleasant disease are subject to criminal penalties. To apply such a measure, the judge must have confirmation that a sexually transmitted disease exists, in the form of a medical report.

In addition, there is a list of diseases that are subject to criminal liability due to the fact that they are transmitted exclusively through sexual contact:

viruses - HIV, hepatitis B, genital warts, cytomegalovirus, Kaposi's sarcoma and other diseases;
bacterial infection - syphilis and gonorrhea, chlamydia and ureaplasmosis;
fungi - thrush;
protozoal infections – trichomoniasis;
parasites – scabies, phthiriasis.

The appearance of such a disease after sexual intercourse is confirmation of infection and is subject to mandatory punishment under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Art. 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with comments

Clarifications and distinctions from similar crimes:

the article does not consider HIV infection: this much more serious crime falls under Article 122 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with a more serious punishment for the perpetrator;
Article 121 of the Russian Criminal Code does not contain information about liability for refusal of medical treatment;
the crime completely excludes the factor of negligence - the guilty person is aware of the presence of the disease;
if a person tried to infect someone with a venereal disease, but the crime did not take place due to a number of circumstances, this is a criminal offense of attempted infection (Article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
excludes the guilt of a person due to an erroneous medical report that misled him with information about a complete cure for a venereological disease;
silence about the source of infection, persons having contact with him under Art. 6.1. The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation calls for an administrative fine of 5-10 minimum wages.
the harm caused by venereological diseases is assessed as mild; In the event of serious and moderate consequences for health, the crime is considered under Art. 111, 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
a sick person who has been diagnosed with a venereological disease signs a warning document of the established form, where he is notified of criminal punishment under Art. 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in case of infection of another person with a disease.

What is the punishment?

Criminal liability for this type of crime begins if the perpetrator has reached 16 years of age . At the same time, during the investigation and trial it must be proven that the crime was committed intentionally .

If, during the commission of actions provided for in Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the patient was sure that he was healthy , and this was not refuted during the court hearing, the person is released from liability for this crime.

For committing this crime, the guilty person may suffer one of the following penalties:

a fine of 200 to 500 minimum wages (minimum wages) or collection of the perpetrator’s income for a period of 2-5 months;
correctional labor from 2 to 5 months;
imprisonment for 3-6 months.

A more severe punishment is provided if the victim is a person under the age of majority, or if the accused has infected 2 or more people:

fine from 500 to 700 minimum wage;
salary of the convicted person for 5-7 months;
imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Previously, before the adoption of this Law, another was in force - the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. Article 115 of previous Soviet legislation provided for liability for contracting a venereal disease.

After Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation came into force, many provisions of the previous legislation were retained. The new Law abolished liability for refusal and evasion of treatment .

Article 6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for the liability of those who do not want to disclose the source of their infection and persons who, in addition to the victim himself, may have had contact with the source of infection.

This is necessary to prevent further spread of infection . In case of refusal to provide such information, the person faces liability in the form of a fine of 5 to 10 minimum wages.

Art. 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation detailed analysis

Let's take a closer look at this article:

Object of the crime: personal health safety.
Objective side: inaction, action that ultimately led to infection. The method of infection does not play any role: sexual or household. The latter confirms the malicious violation of the standards of personal hygiene in everyday life by venereological patients. At the same time, sexual transmission significantly prevails over household transmission. The consent of the injured person to contract a sexually transmitted disease is not a reason for excluding liability. The nature of the disease, features and methods of its treatment also do not affect the punishability.
Art. 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: – material. The fact of the end of the crime is the direct infection of another person with the disease. A clear “cause-effect” connection must be made between the action/inaction of a venereological patient and the fact of infection.
Subjective side: guilt can be either conscious or careless, and intent can be both direct and indirect. A citizen knows that if he has this disease, it is strictly forbidden to engage in sexual relations or ignore the rules of personal hygiene, and he foresees the consequences of such behavior. But at the same time, he is indifferent to the consequences of his actions or consciously desires their occurrence. Criminal frivolity (the patient arrogantly believes that the consequences in his case will not manifest itself) also does not exempt from responsibility.
Subject: a person who has reached the age of 16 and is aware of his or her venereal disease.
Qualifying type: when two or more people are infected, it does not matter whether they were infected at the same time or at different times. Fact of infection of a minor: the subject of the crime must admit/know that the victim is under 18 years of age.

Infection with a venereal disease

Infection occurs when:

sexual intercourse;
kisses;
eating from the same container with a sick person;
failure to comply with personal hygiene rules.

Proof of a person’s knowledge of his venereological disease is his contacting medical institutions with such a problem and subsequent confirmation of such a diagnosis. These can be certificates, extracts from the doctor’s journal, notes in the epicrisis, laboratory records, sheets of prescribed therapy.

Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation introduces criminal penalties for infecting third parties only for those venereological patients who knew about the presence of the disease. This does not apply to the rest.

Additional comments on the article

Experts' additions to laws and articles of legal documents explain how interested parties should act in the event of controversial situations.
Please note the following explanations:

if the accused had the intention to infect a third party, but this did not happen during any actions, the act is qualified under another article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
the crime can be considered committed from the moment the victim was infected;
When considering a case under Article 121, the concept of criminal negligence is not applicable. This is due to the fact that the offender knew about his illness;
a person’s conviction in the absence of a dangerous disease may be the basis of his innocence. This is possible if the accused was provided with relevant certificates from a medical institution or false research results;
the harm caused by infection with a sexually transmitted infection is regarded as mild;
if a person has infected another person with an infection, but the disease is not sexually transmitted, the action does not fall under this article. Therefore, a mandatory medical examination is carried out.

You should know that the consent of the affected person to infection does not exempt the offender from punishment.

Objective and subjective signs

The object of the crime is considered to be damage to the health and life of the victim. The subject of the crime is a partner who is a carrier of a sexually transmitted infection and is also aware of it. The objective side of the crime is the accomplished infection of the partner. This is characterized by three main features:

response or lack thereof in the subject;
the result of contact is complete infection;
cause-and-effect relationship between actions and disastrous results.

The subjective side represents the corpus delicti and boils down to the recognition by the carrier of the presence of a pathogenic infection on the eve of sexual contact without proper barrier contraception or another option for contact with healthy people. Evidence that the partner knew about his infection is the fact that he went to a medical facility with the corresponding symptoms. If there was no fact of seeking medical help, unintentional infection is automatically implied.

How to independently verify the presence of a sexually transmitted infection

Many illnesses have no specific symptoms. If they exist, then only a doctor can tell what diseases they indicate. What can’t be said about most sexually transmitted diseases, where... “Read more”

What does judicial practice show under the article?

The court often applies this article in practice and when investigating cases.

Examples of solutions:

Citizen Sh. had gonorrhea, knew about it, and was treated. One day she met a young man and had sexual intercourse, forgetting about protection. As a result, he also became infected with a venereal disease, which affected his plans and work. He went to court. Sh. admitted to what she had done and underwent a medical examination. The court found her guilty, she received a fine and forced labor.
Citizen G. suffered from syphilis and was treated at the appropriate dispensary. He had a regular sex partner, but did not tell her about his illness and always used contraceptives. One day he forgot to use them, which led to the infection of the victim. She went to the dispensary, where she realized who was the source of her illness. G. did not admit his guilt and fled the city when he was sent a summons to appear in court. But he was arrested anyway, given suspended imprisonment and a heavy fine.
Citizen C. was infected with HIV as a result of an untested blood transfusion. He found out who was responsible for choosing the blood, waylaid the nurse and deliberately injected a few drops of his blood into her shoulder. As a result, she also became infected with HIV. The woman went to court, Ts. was detained, he was charged with six months of arrest and a fine that would have reimbursed the nurse’s treatment for a year.

What decisions are made under Article 121?

The article is quite strict towards criminals, more often it makes guilty decisions, since infection violates the rights and freedoms of a citizen. In 2022, not a single case was processed through it.

What are aggravating and mitigating circumstances?

A circumstance in which he did not know that he was suffering from a venereal disease can mitigate the punishment for a criminal - then the article does not apply. If he knew that he was sick, but received false information that he was successfully cured and does not pose a danger to society, then his guilt will also be mitigated. An aggravation of the sentence may occur when the perpetrator infected a person out of revenge, for intentional harm, or was hiding from the investigation. Mitigation - if he admitted to his crime, helped the investigation and compensated for the damage.

What ways can you protect yourself from infection?

To protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), you should follow some simple rules:

refuse promiscuity;
use special methods of protection during sexual intercourse;
periodically undergo preventive examinations by a specialist;
If you have a disease, you should immediately notify your partner and family members, since some diseases can be transmitted at home.

By following these rules, you don’t have to worry about the occurrence of a sexually transmitted disease, since the likelihood of this is too low.

Possibility of exemption from punishment

Exemption from the liability prescribed by Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation takes place under Article 79 of the same Code - in connection with the reconciliation of the parties.” A prerequisite here is absolute reconciliation of the parties: the guilty and the victim, as well as complete atonement for those who committed the crime.

Many lawyers consider the application of Art. 79 in this case is quite contradictory: the person who infected the victim who has reconciled with him leaves the area of observation of the investigation. There is a high probability of re-infecting new people with it.

Today, venereological diseases, unfortunately, are among the most common in Russia and in the world. The main method of infection is sexual. Article 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation introduces liability for an already committed crime, infection with a disease that can lead to extremely negative consequences for the health and life of the victim. In the case of sexually transmitted diseases, it is much easier and simpler to prevent them and protect yourself from dubious sexual contacts.

Venereal diseases

Venereal diseases (Latin venus - the ancient Roman goddess of love Venus) diseases are infectious diseases whose main method of transmission is sexual. They are distinguished by the ease of movement of the virus from person to person and a high degree of resistance to immune and antibacterial therapy.

In particular, these are:

gonorrhea;
syphilis;
papillomavirus;
donovanosis;
chancroid;
granuloma venereum, etc.

Prosecution

The infecting person should be held accountable in the following way:

Submit an application to a venereology clinic or other medical institution with the obligatory mention of the person suspected of infection.
Based on this application, the specified citizen will be subject to forced examination.
Through the investigator, the originals of the necessary medical documents from the clinics where the suspect and the victim were treated are requested to be submitted to the court.
Based on the medical histories of these individuals: the onset of the disease, the time intervals of infection, the course of the disease, the court makes a decision on the involvement of the suspect in contracting a venereological disease.

Objective and subjective signs

response or lack thereof in the subject;
the result of contact is complete infection;
cause-and-effect relationship between actions and disastrous results.