oa South African Journal of Bioethics and Law - The ethics of claiming a 60% reduction in HIV acquisition from voluntary medical male circumcision : letter

Abstract

To the Editor: Is telling people that voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) reduces the risk of HIV acquisition (female to male) by 60% ethically defensible? It is commonly stated that VMMC reduces the risk of HIV acquisition by (about) 60%, and this statement is even repeated during the process of obtaining consent for the circumcision procedure, often without the clarification that this statement applies to female-to-male HIV transmission.