Criminal justice includes both the effect of criminalization laws related to disclosure of HIV status, and the impact of incarceration on risk and treatment outcomes for HIV. Research shows that criminalization has created a climate of anxiety and shaped messages from the media and health professionals in ways that are not always conducive to greater disclosure. The legal and media framing of HIV as a responsibility to disclose potentially undermines HIV prevention messaging, and may greater numbers of people living with HIV in jeopardy. On the flip side, people in contact with the correctional system have higher rates of HIV than the general population. While correctional settings may be an ideal place to diagnose HIV and engage people in care, more work is needed to overcome barriers to testing and treatment, as well as to manage care transitions for those returning to the community.

Key Facts and Research Findings

• Studies have shown that decriminalization of sex work is one of the most effective ways to reduce new HIV infections among women.
  Filed under: At-risk Women, Criminal Justice
• 4.5% of men in the Canadian federal prison system report having HIV, compared to 0.2% of the general population.
  Filed under: Criminal Justice
• 7.9% of women in the Canadian federal prison system report having HIV, compared to 0.2% of the general population.
  Filed under: At-risk Women, Criminal Justice
• The most significant risk factor for HIV (and hepatitis C) for current and former prisoners is injection drug use.
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, People who use Drugs, Substance Use
• The prevalence rate of HIV among Indigenous women in federal prisons is 11.7%, compared to a 0.2% prevalence in the general population
  Filed under: At-risk Women, Criminal Justice, Indigenous Peoples
• The prevalence of HIV is higher among people in federal penitentiaries (1.8%) than in the general population (0.2%)
  Filed under: Criminal Justice
• Among participants in Positive Spaces Healthy Places, Indigenous people living with HIV were more likely than non-Indigenous participants to report a history of incarceration and to report unmet needs for legal services
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Indigenous Peoples
• 70% of Positive Spaces Healthy Places participants in Northern Ontario had been to jail or prison, compared to 32% of participants overall
  Filed under: Criminal Justice
• 60% of participants in Positive Spaces Healthy Places and the OCS get their information on criminalization and disclosure law from the media; 32% get their information from AIDS Service Organizations
  Filed under: Criminal Justice
• Among participants in the Food Security Study, those who had ever used drugs or been to jail were 2x more likely to be food-insecure
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Food Security, People who use Drugs, Substance Use

Related Studies

• A Cultural Intervention for Indigenous Youth
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Current Studies, Indigenous Peoples, OHTN, Prevention, Research Pages
• The Positive Parenting Pilot Project
  Filed under: African, Caribbean and Black Communities, At-risk Women, Criminal Justice, Current Studies, Engagement, Indigenous Peoples, OHTN, Research Pages, Stigma

Related Researchers

• Sharmistha Mishra
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Engagement, Interventions Across the Cascade, Men who Have Sex with Men, OHTN, Prevention, Research Pages
• Tony Antoniou
  Filed under: African, Caribbean and Black Communities, At-risk Women, Care, Criminal Justice, OHTN, Other Comorbidities, people, Research Pages

OHTN Resources

• 2015 HIV and Housing Summit Report
  Filed under: African, Caribbean and Black Communities, At-risk Women, Care, Criminal Justice, Employment, Engagement, Food Security, Housing, Indigenous Peoples, Intimate Partner Violence, Men who Have Sex with Men, People Living with HIV, Prevention, Reports
• Engaging law enforcement in harm reduction programs for people who inject drugs
  Filed under: Co-infections, Criminal Justice, People who use Drugs, Rapid Responses, Substance Use
• Report: How Criminalization is Affecting People Living with HIV in Ontario
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Reports
• Impacts of Criminalization on the Everyday Lives of People Living with HIV in Canada (PDF)
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Peer-Reviewed Papers
• HIV Disclosure as Practice and Public Policy (open access)
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Peer-Reviewed Papers
• Inside and Out: Changing the Course of the HIV Prevention, Engagement and Care Cascade for Current and Former Prisoners
  Filed under: Care, Co-infections, Criminal Justice, Engagement, Indigenous Peoples, Interventions Across the Cascade, Mental Health, People who use Drugs, Prevention, Reports, Substance Use
• Inside and Out Backgrounder: Changing the Course of the HIV Prevention, Engagement and Care Cascade for Current and Former Prisoners
  Filed under: Backgrounders, Criminal Justice

Other Resources

• The Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit
  Filed under: Criminal Justice, Employment, Food Security, Housing, Intimate Partner Violence, Stigma

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