Grant: Project Grant

Among women, epidemics of substance use, violence, and HIV/AIDS (SAVA) are syndemically linked and mutually reinforced. Indigenous and racialized women are disproportionately criminalized and women who are impacted by the criminal legal system, experience significantly elevated levels of SAVA compared with those in the general population and men in the judicial system. Despite, elevated rates of SAVA, significant gaps in evidence exist regarding how evolving criminal legal system approaches (e.g., drug decriminalization; police /municipal staff 'street sweeps') shape experiences of gender-based violence (GBV), HIV prevention and access to substance use and HIV care in criminalized and marginalized women, along intersecting social identities (e.g. race, gender identity) and structural vulnerabilities (e.g. housing status, sex work). The overarching goal of the proposed community-based research is to use participatory qualitative research methods to gain a better understanding of how evolving criminal legal system approaches shape syndemically linked SAVA trajectories in criminalized and marginalized women over time and to characterize how community-led interventions may mitigate the harms of criminalization. Amidst ongoing debates on criminal legal system reforms, Vancouver is the ideal setting to undertake this research as criminal legal reforms, including the decriminalization of drugs, and police/municipal staff collaborations to police unhoused populations, are being implemented. This study addresses critical research gaps by examining how evolving criminal legal system approaches shape SAVA trajectories over time and will generate critical insights to delineate pathways through which the impacts of criminalization can be mitigated through equity-focused and community-led responses and policy reforms.