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.
Resources:
HIV Disclosure as Practice and Public Policy
Impacts of Criminalization on the Everyday Lives of People Living with HIV in Canada