Health Not Prisons Dispatch: May 2021

The Health Not Prisons Collective (“HNP”, or “the Collective”) is an intersectional national initiative launched in 2020 by Counter Narrative Project (CNP), Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN), Sero Project,Transgender Law Center (TLC), and theU.S. Caucus of People Living with HIV (the HIV Caucus) — longtime collaborators led by and accountable to communities most affected by HIV criminalization in the United States.

HNP fosters and sustains a robust, intersectional grassroots HIV decriminalization response that centers and elevates leadership by impacted communities: Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), people living with HIV, people involved in the sex trade, immigrants, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and no- and low-income people.

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. For more information about the coalition email Tyler Barbarin at [email protected].

National Updates

HIV advocates met 28 years ago to highlight the unique needs of people living with HIV, resulting in the creation of AIDSWatch. Since then, AIDSWatch has transformed into the country’s largest annual constituent-based national HIV advocacy event.

This year, AIDSWatch released a series of policy recommendations following the conference. Their recommendations seek to rectify the harm inflicted and perpetuated against vulnerable communities through concrete suggestions for federal action and accountability. Read the summary of the legislative and administrative HIV policy recommendations from the 2021 conference here.

In the civil and human rights policy brief, AIDSWatch bases their congressional recommendations for policy on the premise that the HIV epidemic is exacerbated by violations of civil and human rights.

The topics they prioritize in their policy recommendations are strongly aligned with the principles of HNP. They are as follows:

1. to protect the rights of all racial and ethnic groups,

2. to protect the rights and privacy of all people living with HIV,

3. to protect all members of the LGBTQ+ community,

4. to recognize and protect the rights of sex workers,

5. to protect the rights of the transgender community and to protect the rights of the immigrant community.

The work of HNP touches all of the areas of emphasis identified by AIDSWatch, and our partners had the opportunity to share their expertise and perspective on topics like molecular HIV surveillance. The U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus organized a virtual meeting with over 90 participants which discussed the harms of relying on surveillance and criminality as a public health measure. Watch the presentation here.

The HNP partners brought participation of impacted communities to AIDSWatch in a number of ways. Members were heavily represented in the over 1,000 people participating in AIDSWatch with 12 community education and networking sessions and over 200 zoom meetings with congressional offices held. The Caucus steering committee members also held meetings with both the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau (HRSA HAB) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Decriminalization Efforts at the State Level

California

Positive Women’s Network – USA is a proud cosponsor of Senate Bill 357 (SB 357) which decriminalizes loitering with the intent to commit “prostitution.” Oftentimes, this type of legislation is referred to as a “walking while trans” bill, because it stigmatizes and criminalizes trans people for simply existing in public spaces. Black trans women are most frequently impacted by these types of laws, and SB 357 seeks to affirm their right to exist free from harassment and criminalization irrespective of their intent to engage in sex work. PWN California member, Fatima Shabazz, offered expert testimony in the public safety committee hearing. SB 357 has successfully passed through committee and now heads to the Senate floor.

Illinois

Sero Project has participated in the HIV Illinois Action Alliance that has successfully introduced House Bill 1063 (HB 1063) this legislative session. HB 1063 passed through the House with a strong bipartisan vote of 90-9. If passed, this would fully repeal HIV criminalization statutes in Illinois. HB 1063 passed the Senate Executive Committee, heads now to the Senate Assignments Committee. Please find the full bill here.

Florida

As members of the Florida HIV Justice Coalition, Sero Project and PWN hope to see the modernization of HIV legislation in the state of Florida. House Bill 1465 (HB 1465) and Senate Bill 1618 (SB 1618) were introduced this legislative session with the hopes of bringing the laws up to date with the current science of HIV treatment and prevention. Although the Justice Coalition initially hoped that sex worker penalty enhancements could be removed from law during this session, neither one of the bills introduced were able to successfully address this concern. Read HB 1465 here and SB 1618 here.

Missouri

Sero Project and PWN have been supporting the MO HIV Justice Coalition in the introduction of legislation to modernize their HIV criminal statutes. There are two bills, Senate Bill 65 (SB 65) and House Bill 530 (HB 530), which was amended to include the coalition’s initial bill, HB 755, that was drafted to modernize harmful and stigmatizing legislation in Missouri. Read SB 65 here and HB 530 here.

Upcoming Events, Opportunities & Resources

1. HIV is Not A Crime IV (HINAC) National Training Academy is hosted by HNP partner, Sero Project, along with other HNP partners PWN, Thrive SS, Transgender Law Center, and the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus. HINAC will be held virtually June 7-10 You can register for HINAC here.

2. Positive Women’s Network-USA is hiring! PWN is hiring for our Organizing Director and Finance and Operations Manager positions. Read more about the PWN job opportunities here.

3. Networks of people living with HIV are holding a community briefing on May 4 about priorities for the Biden administration on federal HIV policy and on critical opportunities to engage people living with HIV. The event will be livestreamed to the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus Facebook page and PWN’s YouTube. RSVP to attend “Nothing About Us Without Us” here.

4. The Counter Narrative Project partner, Darian Aaron, has published an article about how HIV, systemic racism, and criminalization intertwine for disastrous results in Georgia. Read the article here.