Health Not Prisons Dispatch: August 2021

The Health Not Prisons Dispatch is a monthly bulletin highlighting recent developments relevant to criminalization and policing of people living with HIV in the United States, along with upcoming events, relevant resources, and opportunities to get involved.

HNP prioritizes authentic engagement, activation, training, and leadership rooted in our principles and deep investment in our communities. To that end, we want to hear from you! For more information about the coalition, ways to get involved, or efforts you would like to see the Collective support, email Tyler Barbarin at [email protected].

National Updates

The House Appropriations Committee released the Fiscal Year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Funding Bill on July 11. Of note, the Biden administration has requested to increase funding to the Infections Diseases and Opioid Epidemic program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand access to syringe services programs (SSPs) from $56.5 million to $69.5 million in FY 2022 budget.

This will be the first time that the federal government explicitly advocates for the funding of SSPs. The bill removes a provision that has long prohibited federal funds from being used to purchase syringes, as part of a strategy to better serve the health needs of people who use injections drugs.

SSPs are community-based programs that provide people who inject drugs with sterile needles and other supportive services, such as HIV testing, treatment, and counseling. They are an important tool to connect vulnerable populations to affirming health care.

Access to syringes is a proven measure to reduce the occurrence of HIV transmission for people who use drugs. The Biden administration’s commitment to treatment and prevention takes into account the various avenues through which people living with HIV may receive health care services. By making sure people who use injection drugs can get tested regularly for HIV, the Biden administration will be able to create a contact point for hard-to-reach populations to deliver health care services–prevention, treatment, and counseling.

This decision is a further reflection of the commitment to care instead of criminalization of those who use drugs and people living with HIV. Broadening the umbrella of community concerns and access to care is a positive step towards decoupling criminalization from public health.

Drug policies are another way that laws are racialized and disproportionately impact marginalized communities. The ways in which drugs are regulated and their use criminalized impacts individuals, communities, and ecosystems of people–disproportionately Black and Latinx people.

Harm reduction is policy and practice. Decriminalization is key to reducing the harm that is done to marginalized communities. The carceral response hides problems; it does not solve them. We are encouraged by the administration’s repurposing of resources to encourage innovative solutions to solve lack of access to affirming health care.

The quality of life of people who use drugs is tantamount to achieving health equity in this country. HNP partners strongly support SSPs and programs aimed at serving people who use drugs. In our federal policy agenda, Demanding Better: An HIV Federal Policy Agenda by People Living with HIV, we call for the administration to end the criminalization of people who use drugs.

We see the creation and maintenance of SSPs as an important step towards that end. Protections for the most vulnerable amongst us are beneficial to society as a whole and we look forward to more opportunities for harm reduction in the work of this new administration.

Decriminalization Efforts at the State Level

California

Decrim Sex Work California has moved Senate Bill 357 (SB 357) through the Assembly Committee on Public Safety with a 6-2 vote. The bill is now one step closer to being signed into law as it heads to the Committee on Appropriations. If passed, this bill will remove laws that criminalize loitering with the intent to commit prostitution. These laws are frequently and disproportionately used to target Black trans women and sex workers for criminalization.

Missouri

On July 15, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 53 into law, making Missouri the latest state to modernize its HIV criminalization law! HNP partners Sero Project and PWN followed the leadership of people living with HIV in the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition to successfully pass this legislation. Although it is an imperfect law, we are excited to support the advocates in Missouri who have worked hard to improve life for people living with HIV in the state.

Illinois

Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, signed House Bill 1063, into law on Tuesday, July 27, making Illinois the second state to fully repeal its HIV criminalization statutes. “It means a tremendous deal to me and others impacted by the former law,” said Timothy Jackson, director of government relations for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and a leader of the Illinois HIV Action Alliance. “We can now breathe a sigh of relief.”

We congratulate the advocates in Illinois that made this possible. Listen to more coverage about this momentous victory here.

Resources

  • The Center for American Progress hosted an event in partnership with the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus. The event, closed by ONAP Director Harold Phillips, further explained the demands written in the Caucus’s newly released federal policy agenda, Demanding Better. Watch the Beyond Medication: Humanizing the National HIV Response event with the Center for American Progress here.

  • The International Community of Women Living with HIV North America hosted a Facebook live event. In this event, leaders in the HIV movement broke down the community written federal policy agenda demands–including decriminalization and a moratorium on molecular HIV surveillance. Watch the open discussion on the 2021 Federal Policy Agenda for People Living with HIV recording here.

  • Sero Project is hosting a conversation to hear about community experiences at HIV is Not A Crime’s (HINAC) 4th annual conference on August 17th at 6:30pm EST. If you attended HINAC 4 and would like to share your experience, please register for the HINAC 4 Community Conversation here.

  • The Counter Narrative Project released an article citing the cost of HIV related criminal incarcerations in Georgia. Read the report in The Reckoning here.

  • The Counter Narrative Project hosted a conversation between Robert Suttle and Michael Ward discussing HIV decriminalization featured on Revolutionary Health Live. Watch the video here.