Counteracting shame,recognizing desire: Managing the emotional reverberations of criminalizing HIV nondisclosure in Canada

Abstract

This article considers how emotions shape law through specific consideration of the criminalization of HIV nondisclosure in Canada. As the majority of these cases involve heterosexual sex, we argue that Canada’s aggressive prosecution is partially driven by carceral feminist attitudes toward protecting women’s sexual purity. We contend that emotions structure punitive mentalities in ways that contribute to the expansion of carceral culture into new sites of surveillance, in this case the field of public health and the HIV/AIDS frontline service sector. Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted with frontline workers in AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) across Canada, we explore the emotionally laden nature of disclosure for people living with HIV and those who counsel them. Emotions shape the narrative arc of disclosure and counselling practices, commanding significant emotional labour.