Canada has been known as a hot spot for HIV criminalization where the act of not disclosing one’s HIV-positive status to sex partners has historically been regarded as a serious criminal offences. Criminalized Lives describes how this approach has disproportionately harmed poor, Black and Indigenous people, gay men, and women in Canada. In this book, people who have been criminally accused of not disclosing their HIV-positive status detail the many complexities of disclosure and the violence that results from being criminalized.
Accompanied by portraits from artist Eric Kostiuk Williams, the profiles examine whether the criminal legal system is really prepared to handle the nuances and ethical dilemmas faced every day by people living with HIV. By offering personal stories of people who have faced criminalization firsthand, Alexander McClelland questions common assumptions about HIV, the role of punishment, and violence that results from the criminal legal system’s legacy of categorizing people as either victims or perpetrators.
