This research report by Eric Mykhalovskiy, Colin Hastings, Chris Sanders, Michelle Hayman, and Laura Bisaillon is available on-line at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2874409.
The report explores mainstream Canadian newspaper coverage of HIV non-disclosure criminal cases in Canada.
It pays particular attention to how defendants’ race and immigration status figure into the newspaper representations of cases. The authors empirically enquire into claims that African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) people living with HIV are negatively portrayed and overrepresented in Canadian newspaper stories about HIV non-disclosure cases.
The findings show that Canadian mainstream newspapers are a source of stigmatizing representations of ACB men living with HIV. For example, Black immigrant men living with HIV are dramatically overemphasized in Canadian mainstream newspaper stories about such cases. While accounting for only 15% of defendants charged, they are the focus of 61% of newspaper coverage.
Ryan Peck, HALCO executive director/lawyer, is a member of the Research Advisory Committee.