Human Rights

We believe that the HIV epidemic and its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities are symptoms of larger social and structural injustices – including but not limited to racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and stigmatizing attitudes towards folks vulnerable to acquiring HIV. In particular, we believe that the full human rights and dignity of people living with HIV, women, people of color, low-income people, sex workers, LGBTQ persons, and drug users must be upheld in order to prevent HIV infection and ensure a high quality of life for those living with HIV.

People living with and vulnerable to HIV exist at the intersection of many structural injustices and inequalities including homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism and transphobia.

To reframe the epidemic as a human rights crisis, the PWN contributes to human rights work nationally and globally by training women affected by HIV to understand human rights and through policy analysis and organizing for changes that uphold the human rights and dignity of all people.

PWN organizes a skills-building workshop to learn about the human rights of women living with HIV and what you can do to uphold your rights. Learn more about our nation-wide training series in our Trainings and Opportunities section.

Every four years, the UPR assesses each country’s adherence to its human rights obligations. As part of the first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United States by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the U.S. government submitted their report on compliance with its human rights obligations to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

PWN contributed to three shadow reports on the rights to health, housing, and reproductive health, which have been filed with the Human Rights Council to help them review and supplement the information provided by the U.S. government.