Women and the criminalization of HIV - An ethnographic investigation of gendered power relations, violence and access to health care

The use of criminal law to regulate the risk of HIV transmission is an important HIV public policy issue. A recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling (2012) found that HIV positive individuals are now required to disclose their HIV status except where both a condom is used and the person has a "low" HIV viral load; or may otherwise be subject to a conviction of aggravated sexual assault. This decision has drawn significant criticism by both public health and human rights experts in Canada and globally for failing to consider the gendered power dynamics of negotiating male condom use and the associated risks for violence and livelihood as a result of HIV disclosure for women living with HIV. Given the pervasiveness of gender-based violence and ongoing HIV-related stigma, there is a critical need to better understand how the law criminalizing HIV non-disclosure uniquely affects women living with HIV. The central objectives of the proposed study are two-fold: 1) Gain a better understanding of how the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure influences the negotiation of safer sex practices and the experience of violence among women living with HIV. 2) Gain a better understanding of how the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure influences HIV-related stigma and access to HIV treatment and care among women living with HIV. The findings of this research will contribute towards building evidence-based HIV policy that considers gendered power dynamics and HIV-related stigma.