Discrimination can occur at all stages of criminal justice involvement, from differential enforcement and/or threats of violence by police officers to court proceedings and sentencings. Various studies have shown that Black men are imprisoned at nearly seven times the rate of white men sexual minority young adults are nearly three times more likely to report being criminally sanctioned compared to their heterosexual peers and the rate of HIV among prisoners is multiple times higher than the general population.
The research appears in the journal Stigma and Health. They find that perceived racial discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, and HIV-status discrimination are all associated with risk for criminal justice involvement in this population. New research by Morgan Philbin, PhD, at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues looks at why Black young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately subject to high rates of arrest and incarceration.
