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Marriage

Today, many people find out their infection with the AntiHIV test included in the marriage procedures. Though diagnosis at this first step towards marriage highly affects the couples, it’s not an unmanageable situation. First of all, if your spouse-to-be also found out the result, you should consult the centers offering counseling and get informed through right sources. HIV infection is not legally an obstacle for marriage. If the doctor at the center where you consulted says otherwise, contact our association immediately. Marriage, domestic life and sexual intercourse which are part of marriage do not pose a risk for your spouse-to-be’s health. What matters is that you’re diagnosed and your access to treatment. As long as you take the treatment, you will have a healthy life and continue your marriage as people who are not living with HIV do. Most people decide to get married to have children. Remember, living with HIV doesn’t prevent your from having children.

If you discovered your HIV infection in the pre-marriage examination, you and your spouse-to-be must go to the center together, where you applied to get the report based on verification testing, and explain the situation to your spouse-to-be. Upon acquiring the informed consent stating that your spouse-to-be is aware of your health condition and accepts to get married with their own consent, your health report excluding the HIV infection condition will be prepared by your doctor.

If your doctor refuses to prepare the health report or exclude HIV infection condition, you can get support by calling our association or directly your local Directorate of Public Health’s Infectious Diseases Branch Office. Your doctor has no right to refuse to prepare the report.

If you discovered your infection during your marriage, you need to get informed first, and then tell your spouse about your infection. If you had unprotected sexual intercourse with your spouse before the diagnosis, your spouse must be screened for HIV during the convenient times after your last intercourse.

Virus may not have been transmitted to your spouse even if you had unprotected sexual intercourse. Following the first suspicious result, you must absolutely use a condom during all future sexual intercourses.

If you were diagnosed during your wife’s breastfeeding period and you had unprotected sexual intercourse after the birth, you can consult your doctor without waiting for the Anti HIV time for scan test Viral Load scan. If your spouse has tested positive, your doctor might ask her to stop breastfeeding immediately and start the protective treatment for the baby. Although you’re experiencing the HIV diagnosis trauma, remember that your spouse, who’s been diagnosed during marriage, is also experiencing a similar trauma and needs support. It’d benefit you both if you contacted your doctor and our association together to get informed. Your spouse might still want to end the marriage despite all support and information they received after discovering your infection during marriage. In this case, HIV alone can’t be considered a reason for divorce. In case of getting infected through extramarital sex, your spouse can only sue for divorce on grounds of “extramarital sex”. If your infection is mentioned in the court, you can request the court sessions to be held without the presence of third parties as per Constitutional Court’s relevant decision.

Finally, we’d like to state something for girlfriends/boyfriends, fiancées/fiancés and spouses not living with HIV; we know that you are confused and worried about finding out your partner’s health condition. Now, please take a deep breath and relax. Your partner needs your support more than ever now. HIV virus is not that strong to cast a shadow upon the peaceful and happy future you’ve been dreaming of. Your partner will continue to be a healthy person and a partner as they were before. You haven’t lost your dreams. HIV can’t infect your love. And don’t let HIV to do so.