Releasing Stigma: Police, Journalists, and Crimes of HIV Non-Disclosure

Kirkup, Kyle

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2503261

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The media emerged as a key source from which participants learned about the SCC ruling, consistent with previous Canadian work (Adam et al, 2012; Kapiriri et al, 2016). This is disconcerting, given the often inflammatory and sensationalist media reporting of HIV non-disclosure prosecutions (CBC News, 2011; Fong, 2006), which frequently misrepresent medico-legal information, and fuel HIV-related stigma and public misconceptions about HIV (Adam et al, 2012; Kirkup, 2014; Mykhalovskiy & Sanders, 2008). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness and understanding of HIV non-disclosure case law among people living with HIV who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting

Patterson

Kaida

Hogg

et al. 2017

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Background In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled that people living with HIV (PLWH) could face criminal charges if they did not disclose their serostatus before sex posing a “realistic possibility” of HIV transmission. Condom-protected vaginal sex with a low (i.e., <1500 copies/mL) HIV viral load (VL) incurs no duty to disclose. Awareness and understanding of this ruling remain uncharacterized, particularly among marginalized PLWH. Methods We used data from ACCESS, a community-recruited cohort of PLWH who use illicit drugs in Vancouver. The primary outcome was self-reported awareness of the 2012 SCC ruling, drawn from cross-sectional survey data. Participants aware of the ruling were asked how similar their understanding was to a provided definition. Sources of information from which participants learned about the ruling were determined. Multivariable logistic regression identified factors independently associated with ruling awareness. Results Among 249 participants (39% female), median age was 50 (IQR: 44–55) and 80% had a suppressed HIV VL (<50 copies/mL). A minority (112, 45%) of participants reported ruling awareness, and 44 (18%) had a complete understanding of the legal obligation to disclose. Among those aware (n = 112), newspapers/media (46%) was the most frequent source from which participants learned about the ruling, with 51% of participants reporting that no healthcare providers had talked to them about the ruling. Ruling awareness was negatively associated with VL suppression (AOR:0.51, 95% CI:0.27,0.97) and positively associated with recent condomless sex vs. no sex (AOR:2.00, 95% CI:1.03,3.92). Conclusion Most participants were not aware of the 2012 SCC ruling, which may place them at risk of prosecution. Discussions about disclosure and the law were lacking in healthcare settings. Advancing education about HIV disclosure and the law is a key priority. The role of healthcare providers in delivering information and support to PLWH in this legal climate should be further explored.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness and understanding of HIV non-disclosure case law among people living with HIV who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting

Patterson

Kaida

Hogg

et al. 2017

International Journal of Drug Policy

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“…Stigmatizing language in the courtroom, such as referring to HIV as a biological agent or deadly weapon, is overly punitive and prejudicial to a defendant (Hoppe 2018;Weait 2007). Publicity surrounding an alleged crime or resulting prosecution can exacerbate stigma around HIV and violate privacy (Kirkup 2014;O'Toole 1995). Prison policies may affect access to medical care and reduce or encourage sexual violence in the incarcerated setting (Goyer 2002).…”

Section: Hiv Criminalization: a Challenge For Criminologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Critical Criminology of HIV Criminalization

Novak

2021

Crit Crim

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Persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (hereinafter, "PLHIV") face barriers at each stage of the criminal justice process, including prosecution for non-disclosure of HIV status. Justice institutions reinforce the stigma of HIV, which has perverse consequences for HIV prevention and treatment services. This article takes a critical criminological approach to "HIV criminalization," using the frames of queer criminology and epidemiological criminology to analyze both the punishment of "deviant" sex and the public health consequences of HIV stigma. Finally, this article offers a comprehensive consideration of the criminal justice barriers that PLHIV face in light of current criminological research, providing both mainstream and critical criminologists new insights into the social construction of deviance, legitimacy of institutions, definition of victims, and purposes of punishment.

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“…Examining how the criminalization of HIV nondisclosure creates biographical disruption for PLWH necessitates analysing the ‘taken for granted assumptions’ (Bury, 1982: 69) we make about the sexual behaviours of PLWH and the types of criminal justice resources that are mobilized to manage those who do not disclose their status. Criminalization practices in HIV nondisclosure cases tend to follow similar strategies that have been mobilized in sexual assault cases; for example, once an accusation of nondisclosure is made, police have been known to publicize the names of PLWH with an accompanying photograph to encourage their sexual partners to come forward (Hoppe, 2018; Kirkup, 2014). 4 We should stress, however, that conviction rates in cases involving HIV nondisclosure are significantly higher than in sexual assault cases that do not involve accusations of HIV nondisclosure 5 .…”

Section: Nondisclosure As Disruptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 4 4 We do not have data related to the frequency of cases involving the public sharing of photographs of people accused of HIV nondisclosure. For a discussion of the ethics related to police and media disclosure of the identities and images of accused individuals in the Canadian context, see (Kirkup, 2014). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

When biographical disruption meets HIV exceptionalism: Reshaping illness identities in the shadow of criminalization

Orsini

Kilty

2021

Sociology Health & Illness

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Drawing on interviews with civil society actors in the AIDS Service Organization (ASO) sector in Canada, this article explores how these actors contribute to shaping the illness identities of people living with HIV/AIDS in the shadow of efforts to criminalize exposure to HIV. While the biographically disruptive qualities associated with an HIV diagnosis have been addressed in the medical sociology literature, we turn our attention to the key role played by ASOs as interlocutors in this process. Paying specific attention to the intersection of processes of medicalization and criminalization, we ask how they are re‐stigmatizing a condition that has shifted in the public consciousness from its earlier association with deviance and moral culpability. One important implication of our findings concerns the need to take greater account of how the illness identity and experience can be shaped by a ‘biography of telling’, of a renewed pressure to disclose intimate details of one's health status as a way to perform responsible practices of citizenship.

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Releasing Stigma: Police, Journalists, and Crimes of HIV Non-Disclosure

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

Awareness and understanding of HIV non-disclosure case law among people living with HIV who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting

Awareness and understanding of HIV non-disclosure case law among people living with HIV who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting

Toward a Critical Criminology of HIV Criminalization

When biographical disruption meets HIV exceptionalism: Reshaping illness identities in the shadow of criminalization

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