Health Not Prisons Dispatch: November 2021

The Health Not Prisons (HNP) 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

HIV advocates continue to call on the federal government to incorporate the guidance and leadership of people living with HIV in the federal HIV response. Positive Women’s Network and the HIV Justice Worldwide Coalition released the Molecular HIV Surveillance: A Global Review of Human Rights Implications report along with the video, A Perfect Storm, detailing concerns about molecular HIV surveillance and our call to action.

Ending HIV criminalization in all forms must be a key tenet of the federal HIV response. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plays a central role in ending the HIV epidemic in the United States but relies on dangerous and oppressive criminalization strategies to achieve those goals. One example is the EHE’s use of molecular HIV surveillance (MHS). Networks of people living with HIV are concerned with the use of MHS and its detrimental impacts on not only domestic but global, efforts to address HIV.

Expanding priority populations in the NHAS to include sex workers and immigrants is also key to serving those most impacted and to achieving HNP’s goals of decriminalization of people living with HIV. With a new NHAS expected by December 2021, the Health Not Prisons Collective hopes that this NHAS will address its historic omission of sex workers.

Collectives of sex workers have spoken about the importance of including sex workers in the NHAS for years. Earlier this year, Desiree Alliance, Best Practices Policy Project, New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance, The Outlaw Project, and The Black Sex Workers Collective re-released an open letter by sex workers to the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). This letter urges ONAP to: 1) prioritize sex workers as a key population in the NHAS and 2) make concrete commitments to engage sex workers as advocates, leaders, and central players in the effort to end the epidemic.

Released earlier this year, Demanding Better: An HIV Federal Policy Agenda by People Living with HIV (Demanding Better) centers the voices of the most directly impacted, providing a vision and roadmap for the federal government to better meet the needs of people living with HIV through its National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and Ending the HIV Epidemic Plan (EHE). Of note, Demanding Better calls for the federal response to direct resources in ways that would support HIV decriminalization efforts, to halt the use of MHS, and to expand the list of priority populations in the NHAS to include sex workers and immigrants.

Decriminalization at the State Level

2022 Legislative Session Preview

There are several states that are looking forward to addressing HIV criminalization laws in the upcoming legislative session. HNP partners are excited to support the work of local advocates and activists to achieve their ultimate goals of decriminalization of HIV, harm reduction, sex work decriminalization, and more. Here are some updates:

California

SB 357 would decriminalize loitering with the intent to commit prostitution, an important step towards sex work decriminalization, and the bill currently awaits signature by Governor Newsom. Read more about SB 357 here.

Florida

The Florida HIV Justice Coalition is working again in the upcoming legislative session to modernize the state’s outdated HIV criminalization statutes. HNP partners Sero and PWN are excited to continue working together to support long-standing community calls for science- and community-based, rather than penalty-based legislation. Read more about last year’s efforts here.

Georgia

The Georgia HIV Justice Coalition is working to modernize Georgia’s HIV criminalization laws. The Counter Narrative Project is proud to support the efforts of the coalition as they address components of the seven HIV-specific criminal laws that remain in the state. Read more about the work being done in Georgia here.

Louisiana

The Louisiana Commission on HIV, AIDS, and HCV Education, Prevention, and Treatment and the Louisiana Coalition on Criminalization and Health is hosting a discussion on how HIV criminalization impacts residents of Louisiana and potential remedies at the Modernize It Summit. HNP partners are excited to support the developing work to end HIV criminalization in this state.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing led by Rep. Mary Isaacson and Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta on the negative impact and consequences of HIV criminalization. Four advocates, including two PWN members, spoke out against HIV criminalization laws, testifying to the personal impact of Pennsylvania’s practices in criminalizing people diagnosed with HIV. Read more about the panel and the conversation around HIV criminalization, here.

South Carolina

The South Carolina Dream Team Coalition, in collaboration with the Positive Women’s Network-USA South Carolina Chapter, is cultivating legislative champions and preparing for legislative advocacy in the 2022 session.  

Virginia

The Ending Criminalization of HIV and Over Incarceration in Virginia (ECHO VA) Coalition is continuing its efforts to completely modernize the Virginia law, infected sexual battery, currently used against people living with HIV. After making successful gains last year, with the support of Sero Project, Positive Women’s Network-USA, and Equality Virginia, ECHO VA hopes to complete its mission to fully repeal the felony penalty. Read more about last year’s success here.

Featured Events

Beyond Blame

HIV Justice Worldwide is hosting its second annual conference, Beyond Blame, on November 30, 2021, to teach about the importance of HIV decriminalization globally, and the initiatives and strategies that have been used by activists, lawyers, networks, and organizations to work towards ending HIV criminalization. Learn more and register for Beyond Blame 2021 here.

Modernize It Summit

The Louisiana Commission on HIV, AIDS, and HCV Education, Prevention, and Treatment & the Louisiana Coalition on Criminalization and Health is hosting a virtual summit on December 9, 2021, to engage participants in learning about the state of HIV criminalization in Louisiana and the future of modernization. Register for the December 9 Modernize It Summit here.  

Take Action

The Sero Project’s National Survey to Assess Attitudes on HIV Criminalization Among PLHIV seeks to understand how people living with HIV understand and experience criminalization to fully understand the impact of criminalization and the lived experiences of people living with HIV. If you’d like to add your experience, fill out the survey by December 10th.

Resources

Read

  • The Body released an article about how people living with HIV are being doubly impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article discusses criminalization and how people living with HIV are continuing efforts to end criminalization even amidst uncertain times. Read about the push for decriminalization during COVID here.

  • Stephen Hicks, Counter Narrative Project Narrative Justice Fellow, wrote about the importance of funding healthcare—including treatment and prevention—and not relying on criminalization as a means of addressing HIV in The Des. Read Stephen’s article here.

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