As an ongoing commitment to public-facing and community-engaged scholarship, I am pleased to release a booklet on findings from my doctoral research. I’ve published this report for people living with HIV, people who work in HIV and criminal justice community-based organizations, lawyers, activists and advocates, and people interested in the criminalization of HIV and the role of punishment in Canadian society. The booklet details findings from research conducted through Concordia University as part of my PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities. The project examined the experiences of people living with HIV who were charged, prosecuted, or threatened with criminal and public health charges in Canada because they had been alleged to not tell sex partners of their HIV-positive status.
This is the first known qualitative research study examining the phenomena of criminal and public health charges for HIV non-disclosure from the perspectives of those who have lived it. The project was conducted between January 2016 to January 2019. This report starts by first describing how the project was organized and what methods were used and then details stories from nine of the participants, followed by an overview of some of the main findings. It includes illustrations from the gorgeous and talented Eric Koustik Williams, and was designed by the wonderful Mixtape Branding.
The booklet is dedicated to J., C., M., J., and M. I know that engaging with this project was a hard, emotional, and healing experience. Thank you for trusting me with your experiences and allowing me into your lives to bear witness. This project is dedicated to all of you in your ongoing efforts to seek peace and justice.
The research and booklet was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.