Criminalization, Public Health and Incarceration - A participatory qualitative and digital storytelling investigation of the experiences of cis and trans women living with HIV

Cis and transgender women living with HIV women living with HIV are over criminalized and overrepresented in Canadian prisons. This is especially true for women living with HIV who face additional health and social inequities, including poverty, housing instability, racism, and illicit substance use. Despite recent advancements limiting the use of criminal laws in governing HIV non-disclosure in Canada, emerging research reveals that coercive public health interventions have the potential to further criminalize women living with HIV. Under public health law, failure to comply with HIV treatment regimens can result in imprisonment. Among the Canadian prison population, women are more likely to report living with HIV compared to men with incarcerated Indigenous women reporting the highest HIV rates. Following release from correctional facilities, women are less likely to be connected to HIV care and experience worse treatment outcomes compared to men. The objectives of the proposed community-based research is to use participatory, qualitative and digital storytelling methods to generate new insights on the gendered impacts of criminalization, public health interventions and incarceration trajectories on the continuity of care and social inequities among WLWH. The ultimate goal is to inform HIV law reform, best practice guidelines for public health authorities and women-specific interventions to reduce the negative effects of criminalization and incarceration among women living with HIV. This work is firmly rooted in Greater and Meaningful Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS principles.