HOW CRIMINALIZATION IS AFFECTING PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV IN ONTARIO
There has been a rising tide of criminal prosecutions of HIV non-disclosure in Ontario
over the last decade. Drawing on results from the OHTN Cohort Study, the Positive
Places Healthy Places Cohort Study, and in-depth interviews with 122 HIV-positive
people, this research study reports on the ways that criminalization impacts the
everyday lives of people living with HIV (PHA) in Ontario. The reports shows how
the criminal justice system and media coverage have created a climate of anxiety
(though not all feel equally affected), affected PHA views on when disclosure is
(and is not) necessary, shaped messages from health professionals, and affected
PHA disclosure practices. The legal and media framing of HIV as a responsibility
to disclose potentially undermines HIV prevention messaging and places ever greater
numbers of PHA in jeopardy.