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    DECEMBER 2020

      • KPFA.org: UpFront (radio interview with Naina Khanna)

    NOVEMBER 2020

    SEPTEMBER 2020

    AUGUST 2020

    JULY 2020

    JUNE 2020

    MAY 2020

    APRIL 2020


    MARCH 2020


    FEBRUARY 2020

      • POZ.com: Still a Babe (profile of Board Co-Chair Pat Migliore)

    JANUARY 2020

    DECEMBER 2019

    NOVEMBER 2019


    SEPTEMBER 2019

    AUGUST 2019

    JULY 2019

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    MAY 2019


    APRIL 2019

    MARCH 2019

    FEBRUARY 2019

    JANUARY 2019


    DECEMBER 2018


    TheBody.com: HIV Community Advocates React to HHS Secretary Azar’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS Announcements
    TheBody.com:
    Meet Health Equity Hero Yolo Akili Robinson


    NOVEMBER 2018


    TheBody.com: Reflections on World AIDS Day 2018: In Despair and Love, Where Are Our Political Homes?
    Rewire:
    With Black Women at High Risk for HIV, Why Are So Few Taking the Prevention Pill?
    The 21st (A production of Illinois Public Media):
    Drinking Water In Illinois; ‘No Blue Memories’ Gwendolyn Brooks Production; Day With(out) Art Film
    TheBody.com:
    Marnina Ross-Miller Is a Young Leader Who Wants to Learn From Older HIV Activists
    TheBody.com:
    Long-Term Survivors of HIV
    POZ:
    POZ-100
    Edge Media Network:
    Why Voting in Midterms is HIV Advocacy

    OCTOBER 2018


    Huffington Post: I Confronted Mitch McConnell and Interrupted Susan Collins. And I’ll Do It Again. (Naina Khanna’s op-ed)
    POZ: Watch: HIV Activists Protest Brett Kavanaugh
    Huffington Post: Watch Republican Senators Dodge Women’s Questions About Sexual Assault (PWN E.D. Naina Khanna birddogs Mitch McConnell in airport)
    Huffington Post: Mitch McConnell: Brett Kavanaugh Protesters Won’t “Scare Us”
    The Cut (New York Magazine): The New Era of Confrontation
    CNN: Activists Confront Senators at Airport
    The Cut (New York Magazine): Republican Senator Hides in Men’s Bathroom When Confronted by Sexual Assault Survivors
    Carbonated.TV: Orrin Hatch To Sexual Abuse Survivors Protesting Kavanaugh: ‘Grow Up’
    POZ: How Red Does The Line Have to Be?
    New York Times: With a Transformed Judiciary in Sight, Mitch McConnell “Will Not Be Intimidated” (PWN E.D. Naina Khanna birddogs Mitch McConnell in airport)

    SEPTEMBER 2018

    New Yorker:
    How the Kavanaugh Protests Reached the National Stage (PWN CO member Mary Jane Maestas quoted)
    USA Today:
    Activists Protest Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination (PWN CO member Mary Jane Maestas prominently featured and named in photo)

    AUGUST 2018

    KQED: HIV-Positive with No Money? This Woman’s Been There and Wants to Help


    JULY 2018


    BBC: Interview with Naina Khanna on state of the epidemic in the U.S. (starts at 23:00)
    Windy City Times:
    Global Human Rights Advocates Say No AIDS 2020 in United States
    TheBody.com:
    Citing Trump Policies, Activists Want AIDS 2020 Conference Moved Out of U.S.
    Bay Area Reporter:
    Activists Want Next AIDS Confab Out of Bay Area
    POZ:
    Don’t Hold the AIDS 2020 Conference on U.S. Soil, Urge HIV Groups
    London Free Press (London, Ontario, Canada):
    U.S. AIDS Forum Could Be Sign of Hope or Threats
    POZ:
    Why Activists Want the 2020 AIDS Conference Removed from the U.S.
    Ghana Business Press:
    No AIDS Conference in Trump’s America – Activists
    KPFA:
    Interview with Naina Khanna and George Ayala on removing AIDS 2020 from the U.S. (interview starts at 35:00)
    Intomore:
    Citing Safety Concerns, AIDS Activists Call on AIDS 2020 to Pull Out of San Francisco and Trump’s America

    JUNE 2018


    QNotes: Regional: Law Modernization, Network Retreat (about HINAC3)
    TheBody.com:
    Most Impacted Communities Take Center Stage at HINAC3


    MAY 2018

    The Daily Iowan: Gov. Reynolds Signs Heartbeat Bill Into Law (quotes Rebecca Wang)
    IfWhenHow.org: Abortion Ban Likely to Fail in Court, Puts Iowans in Danger (quotes Rebecca Wang)
    Rewire News: Violent, Extreme Views on Abortion Don’t Deserve a Platform (op-ed co-authored by Rebecca Wang)
    POZ: A Call to Support Immigrants Targeted by Hateful Policies & Rhetoric (our collaborative May Day 2018 statement)
    Living Proof blog: What’s the 6-Word Reason at the Heart of Your Advocacy? Here’s Katie’s. (featuring graduated policy fellow Katie Willingham)

    APRIL 2018

    TheBody.com: Fired Up and Ready to Vote: Evany Turk Mobilizes the HIV Community for Midterms
    abc15 News: Myrtle Beach Hosts National Summit for Women with HIV
    MyFabulousDisease: The Positive Women’s Network 2018 “Speak Up!” Summit
    NBC News: Travel Policies Make U.S. Unsafe for AIDS Conference, Activists Say (quotes Naina Khanna)
    TheBody.com: Name HIV Activists Fiercer Than the Positive Women’s Network. I’ll Wait.

    MARCH 2018

    TheBody.com: U.S. Networks of People with HIV Oppose U.S. Location for 2020 International AIDS Conference.
    TeenVogue: Nearly a Quarter of People Living with HIV in the U.S. Are Women
    TheBody.com: New Toolkit Supports Advocates Using Media to Fight for HIV Justice
    TheBody.com: Positive Organizing Shero: Mona Jessi

    FEBRUARY 2018


    POZ: Empowered Legacies
    NMAC:
    Constituent Spotlight: Teresa Sullivan
    POZ:
    Why Does HIV Need a Racial Justice Framework?
    amfAR:
    Cure Countdown: Epic Voices

    JANUARY 2018

    POZ: 5 Awesome 2017 Videos About U=U (PWNCares)
    TheBody.com: Trump’s Firing of the HIV Council Was Bad, but We’ve Been Here Before (quotes Naina Khanna)
    Dallas Voice: HIV/AIDS: Looking back at 2017, ahead at 2018
    TheBody.com: Even When Criminalization Isn’t a Threat, Abusers Use HIV as a Tool of Coercion and Control
    TheBody.com: HIV Community Responds to New HHS “Conscience and Religious Freedom” Division
    Plus Mag: Kamaria Laffrey is #2 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2018


    DECEMBER 2017

    Huffington Post: Undetectable=Untransmittable. Why the Hell Isn’t That Catching On? (op-ed by Naina Khanna)
    NYU: Refusing to Vanish: Muslim Women’s AIDS Activism (featuring Waheedah Shabazz-El)
    My Fabulous Disease: amfAR Chair Kenneth Cole Must Be Replaced. Here’s 5 Suggestions. (featuring Waheedah Shabazz-El)
    Action9 News Denver: How One Colorado Woman Fights HIV Stigma: “It’s Not a Dirty Word Anymore” (featuring Mary Jane Maestas)
    National AIDS Memorial Grove: Surviving Voices: Women and AIDS (featuring Barb Cardell, Pat Kelly, Gina Brown, Waheedah Shabazz-El, Tranisha Arzah, Naina Khanna, Cecilia Chung, Bamby Salcedo)
    TheBody.com: Undetectable=Untransmittable Not Widely Known Among People Living with HIV, Panelists Say (PWNCares)
    Huffington Post: World AIDS Day: How Far We Have Come, How Momentous–but Fragile–Our Victories (op-ed by Naina Khanna)
    Huffington Post: The President Has Declared War on People with HIV (op-ed by Naina Khanna)
    TheBody.com: Looking Back on 2017 in HIV/AIDS, and What’s in Store for 2018

    NOVEMBER 2017

    CNBC: Science battles politics in growing state by state debate over HIV felony charges
    Windy City Times: HIV/AIDS Advocates: AmFAR Chair Kenneth Cole Should Resign
    POZ: How Do You Build a Racially Just and Strategic HIV Movement?
    POZ: POZ 100 Celebrating Women
    Fred Hutch blog: A Voice for HIV Cure (Tranisha)
    TheBody.com: What Is the Future of the Female Condom?
    Plus Mag: Georgia HIV Advocates Demand Betty Price Resign (by Shyronn Jones)
    Healthline: HIV Honors: The Most Influential Voices of 2017 (featuring Kamaria Laffrey, Maria Mejia, Carrie Foote and Davina Conner)


    OCTOBER 2017

    Black AIDS Weekly: Disparities in Health Outcomes, Barriers to Care Are About More than Just Access

    TheBody.com: I Was an American Girl: One Trans Guy Says Thanks and Bye to Tom Petty
    Huffington Post: Criminalizing HIV Status Is Wrong: Gov. Brown Should Stop It

    Gears of Biz: Criminalizing HIV Status Is Wrong: Gov. Brown Should Stop It

    Windy City Times: CA Governor Signs Bill Modernizing State HIV Laws

    I’m Still Josh blog: Breaking: Governor Signs Bill Updating California HIV Laws

    Gay Pop Buzz: HIV Laws in California Experience Sweeping Change

    POZ: California Governor Signs Bill Modernizing HIV Crime Laws

    10,000 Couples: Exposing Others to HIV Will No Longer Be a Felony in California

    Business Insider: Elton John AIDS Foundation Applauds California Governor Jerry Brown for Signing SB 239 into Law

    SEPTEMBER 2017

    POZ: Six Groups Helping Women of Color with HIV Get Total of $1 Million in Grants

    CNN: This Is Sex with Lisa Ling

    AUGUST 2017

    USA Today: Congress revamps housing program to benefit areas where HIV is spreading

    POZ: This HIV Group Helped Save Obamacare, but What’s Next?

    POZ: AIDS Groups Slam Trump’s Ban on Transgender Troops

    TheBody.com: Take Action! Tell Your MOCs No Wall, No Repeal of DACA, No Government Shutdown, No Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare in This Budget

    TheBody.com: We Killed Obamacare Repeal. What Can People with HIV Do Next?

    TheBody.com: The Curse That Has Many Blessings

    JULY 2017

    Time: Capitol Police Arrest 80 People Protesting the Health Care Bill

    CNN: 80 Arrested on Capitol Hill After Health Care Protests

    The Hill: Capitol Police Arrest 80 Healthcare Protesters

    ThinkProgress: Trumpcare Protesters Aren’t Swayed by Promise of a New Bill

    The Rachel Maddow Show: Protests Flare as GOP Health Care/Tax Bill Stalls

    Huffington Post: Protests at Congressional Offices over GOP Health Bill Lead to 80 Arrests

    ABC News: “Kill the Bill, Don’t Kill Me”: Health Care Protesters Descend on Capitol Hill
    Washington Post: U.S. Capitol Police Arrest 80 Protesters at House and Senate Offices
    MSNBC News: Police Arrest Protesters Outside Senate Offices in D.C.

    Denver Post: Boulder Resident Among Protesters Arrested at Cory Gardner’s Washington Office
    Daily Camera: Boulder Resident Among Protesters Arrested at Cory Gardner’s Washington Office
    USA Today: Capitol Police Arrest 80 People Protesting GOP Health Care Bill

    NBC10 (Philadelphia), “80 Arrested Amid Health Care Protests in House, Senate Buildings

    Daily Mail: “Save Our Lives, Kill the Bill”: Eighty Activists Arrested During Health Care Protests in Congressional Offices

    CBS News: Republican Senators Face Health Care Protesters on Capitol Hill

    Fusion: At Least 80 Arrested in Massive Protest of Senate Healthcare Bill at the U.S. Capitol

    TheBody.com: “Kill the Bill, Don’t Kill Us”: On Capitol Hill and at Home, PWN Members and Allies Take Action to Stop Trumpcare

    WYTV (Ohio): Warren Council Members in Opposition of Obamacare’s Repeal

    CBSDenver 4 (Colorado): Gardner: Coloradans Want Solution to Failing Health System
    TheBody.com: Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Draws Condemnation from HIV Organizations
    TheBody.com: Embodying the Principles of MIPA: It’s More than Just Status

    CNN: Protesters Roll Loudly Through Senate Office Buildings, 155 Arrested

    TheBody.com: HIV Social Media and the Valley of Trolls

    AlterNet: Hundreds of Activists Occupy the Capitol to Stop Trumpcare

    JUNE 2017

    Associated Press: California Lawmakers Vote to Repeal HIV Criminalization Laws

    KPCC: Knowingly Exposing Others to HIV Is a Felony. Should It Be?

    TheBody.com: Meet Jada Cardona: HIV Gave Her the Strength for Her Gender Transition
    Newsweek: Trump Doesn’t Care about HIV. We’re Outta Here.

    Buzzfeed News: Six People Have Resigned from Trump’s HIV/AIDS Council Because “He Doesn’t Care”

    Politico: Six Quit HIV/AIDS Council Over Trump Health Policies

    Gizmodo: Why Six HIV Experts Just Resigned from Trump’s AIDS Advisory Council

    NBC News: Six Experts Resign from President’s HIV/AIDS Advisory Council in Protest
    Washington Post: Trump Simply ‘Does Not Care’ about HIV/AIDS, Say Six Experts Who Just Resigned from His Advisory Council

    TheBody.com: What’s New in HIV Criminalization in the U.S.: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
    A&U: China White, Advocate

    Univision: Renuncian seis asesores del gobierno en materia de VIH/SIDA: “A Trump simplemente no le importa”

    WKBN 27 Ohio: Health Care Protester: “I’m Scared…It’s Going to Kill a Lot of People”
    TheBody.com: How Do You Advise the President About HIV When He Doesn’t Want to Be Advised?

    SELF: Why I Resigned from the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

    POZ: HIV Resists!

    The Rachel Maddow Show: Republican health/tax bill tests loyalty to constituents

    MAY 2017

    TheBody.com: Take Action: Kill the AHCA Before It Kills Us!

    TheBody.com: Help Reunite Mothers Who Are in Jail Because They Are Poor with Their Kids in Time for Mother’s Day

    TheBody.com: This May Day, Join the HIV Community Movement for Expanded Sanctuary
    TheBody.com: PWN-USA and SERO Project Announce HIV Is Not a Crime III in Indianapolis
    TheBody.com: How Trumpcare Threatens the Lives of Women Living with HIV

    TheBody.com: This #MothersDay, Help #FreeMichaelJohnson and Bring Him Home to His Mom

    APRIL 2017

    AIDS United blog: First-Time Peek from the Hill at AIDSWatch 2017

    AIDS United blog: All Women, All Rights at AIDSWatch 2017

    TheBody.com: What’s New in HIV Criminalization in the United States

    South Florida Gay News: Bill to Modernize HIV Criminalization Makes Progress

    The Hill: To Prevent New HIV Infections, Stop Criminalizing People Living with HIV
    TheBody.com: Colorado HIV Advocacy Day: Success!

    TheBody.com: Action Alert: May Day Solidarity; #FundHIV; Show Immigrant Mamas Some Love
    TheBody.com: Take Action! Show Up to Hold Your Members of Congress Accountable!
    TheBody.com: All Women, All Rights at AIDSWatch 2017

    TheBody.com: Who Would Have Thought?

    TheBody.com: #HIVResists Monthly Policy Update: Resistance, Victories and New Attacks

    MARCH 2017

    AIDS United blog: Positive Organizing Shero, Teresa Sullivan

    US News & World Report: California Lawmakers Want to Repeal HIV Criminalization Laws
    Sacramento News & Review: HIV and Punishment

    Sacramento Bee: Should HIV-Positive People Still Face Penalties for Not Telling Partners?

    L.A. Weekly: Keeping HIV+ Status from a Partner Is a Felony. This Bill Would Change That

    San Francisco Chronicle: As HIV Landscape Shifts, Move to Rethink Laws on Transmission

    ABC News: New California Bill Would Update HIV Laws

    Final Call: Black Women Still Stalked by HIV and AIDS

    TheBody.com: Structural Violence, Discrimination Keep Transgender Women with HIV from Accessing Care

    TheBody.com: HIV Activists on Organizing and Self-Care in the Trump Era

    TheBody.com: Georgia’s Fight to Modernize HIV Criminalization Laws

    FEBRUARY 2017

    Bay Area Reporter: Bill Would Amend State’s HIV Criminal Statutes

    YubaNet: Sen. Wiener, Asm. Gloria Announce Bill to Modernize California’s Discriminatory HIV Criminalization Laws

    SF Weekly: Laws Discriminating Against People with HIV Challenged in New Bill

    TheBody.com: California Lawmakers Announce Bill to Modernize Discriminatory HIV Criminalization Laws

    KPCC: California Senator Moves to Rewrite State’s HIV Transmission Laws

    POZ: Bill Introduced to Reform Outdated HIV Crime Laws

    KQED: Lawmakers Aim to Take California’s HIV-Specific Crimes Off the Books

    ATTN: This State Might Get Rid of Laws that Make Having Sex with HIV a Crime

    San Diego Gay & Lesbian News: CA Politicians Announce Bill to Modernize State’s Discriminatory HIV Criminalization Laws

    Logo NewNowNext: California Lawmakers Introduce HIV-Decriminalization Bill: Living with HIV Should Not Be a Crime

    The Pride: Bill Would Amend State’s HIV Criminal Statutes

    Plus Mag: Aging with HIV: Asha Molock

    Vox: Why Obamacare Repeal Would Be Devastating to People with HIV

    Bay Area Reporter: Time to Amend CA HIV Penal Codes, Say Lawmakers

    California Healthline: Bill Aims to Decriminalize HIV Transmission

    South Florida Gay News: California Bill Seeks to Modernize HIV Laws

    Unicorn Booty: California Proposes a Repeal of the State’s HIV Criminalization Laws

    AIDS United blog: What Inspired Me to Become an HIV Advocate

    National Health Law Program: Protect Medicaid Funding: Women Living with HIV, Issue 7

    Stat News: California Looks to Roll Back Penalties for HIV Transmission

    Plus Mag: Valentine’s Day: Loving with HIV

    TheBody.com: Get FACTS, Not #AlternativeFacts

    The Hill: HIV Bill in CA Could Decrease Stigma and Discrimination

    AmFAR: Empowering Women with HIV: An Interview with Naina Khanna

    Bay Area Reporter: California Has HIV Criminalization Laws that Are Not Good for Public Health
    TheBody.com: Empowering Women with HIV: An Interview with Naina Khanna

    JANUARY 2017

    BABES Network blog: Peer Advocate Shares Her Experience in DC for World AIDS Day!

    My Fabulous Disease blog: Fighting Trump: HIV Advocates to Watch in 2017

    The Seattle Lesbian: Fighting Trump: HIV Advocates to Watch in 2017

    Plus Mag: Mark S. King’s HIV Advocates to Watch in 2017

    TheBody.com: Join Me in Fighting for Racial Justice

    TheBody.com: PWN-USA Launches Inaugural Class of Policy Fellowship!

    TheBody.com: 2017: Ready for the Fight of Our Lives

    TheBody.com: U.S. Network of Women Launches #HIVResists

    TheBody.com: Sign the #HIVResists Pledge to Take Action in Your Community

    TheBody.com: Anti-Racism and White Women Living with HIV

    TheBody.com: 7 Ways to Correct the Top ‘Alternative Facts’ About HIV

    DECEMBER 2016

    LitHub: On the Dangerous AIDS Myth of “Patient Zero,” and the Book that Started It All

    Fusion: Trump’s Criminal Justice Policies Could Make This Hidden Public Health Issue Even Worse

    Channel 9 News Denver: Women Share HIV-Positive Stories Publicly

    ABC7 Suncoast News: World AIDS Day 2016 in Sarasota

    Plus Mag: World AIDS Day 2016: The Year’s Biggest Developments

    VICE: America’s HIV Criminalization Laws Are Outdated and Out of Touch

    SF Chronicle: Women with HIV, After Years of Isolation, Coming Out of Shadows

    TheBody.com: A Price Too High–Speak Out Now!

    NOVEMBER 2016

    TheBody.com: Rest in Power, Patricia Williams

    TAGG Magazine: Being Transgender and Facing Trauma in Airports

    POZ: I (Still) Believe that We Will Win

    TheBody.com: The End of AIDS? Advocacy in 2016 and Beyond

    TheBody.com: Remembering a Sister: Channing Celeste Wayne

    TheBody.com: I (Still) Believe that We Will Win

    TheBody.com: What’s at Stake in Trump’s America? HIV Community Leaders Share Their Opinions

    TheBody.com: Trans Resistance & Resilience in Changing Times

    TheBody.com: What I Would Tell Another Woman about PWN Speak Up 2016

    AIDS United blog: The AIDS United Positive Organizing Project Sponsors 17 Organizations to Mobilize Grassroots Efforts

    TheBody.com: Ending HIV Stigma

    TheBody.com: Stand Up to Racism, Sexism and Xenophobia in the Incoming Administration!
    TheBody.com: New HIV Criminalization Film from Sero Project, Plus State-by-State Guide

    New Orleans Times-Picayune: “We’re people first”: Diagnosed 22 years ago, advocate promotes HIV/AIDS education

    Tallahassee Democrat: Living with HIV: My Old Normal

    PrideSource: Positive Thoughts: A Sense of Community

    TheBody.com: Health Care at Risk

    OCTOBER 2016

    TheBody.com: Women Living with HIV Are Leading the Way

    NCAAN.org: My Time at SPEAK UP! 2016

    TheBody.com: Factsheet: Criminalization as Violence Against Women

    TheBody.com: My Take on the Violence

    TheBody.com: Women Around the Nation Speak Up for the Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV

    SEPTEMBER 2016Bre Empowered thumbnail

    Plus Mag: Can Homeless Kids, Voguers & $9 Million Change How We Deal with HIV?

    A&U Mag: Fighting HIV Criminalization in Colorado (and Winning)

    TheBody.com: It’s Time for Change

    TheBody.com: A Look at Mexico: HIV, Gender, Migration and Criminalization

    TheBody.com: On Treatment and Uninfectious, Women with HIV Still Shamed by Misinformed Providers, Public

    TheBody.com: Community-Based Participatory Research: Addressing Ethics, Empowerment & HIV Health Disparities

    POZ: National Leadership Summit for Women Living with HIV 2016

    AIDS United Blog: Celebrating Positive Women’s Leadership

    TheBody.com: 250 Women Living with HIV from 29 States, Puerto Rico, Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands SPEAK UP!

    AUGUST 2016

    POZ: Working the Room

    Plus Mag: #37 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Lepena Reid

    Plus Mag: #38 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Meta Smith-Davis

    Plus Mag: #36 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Venita Ray

    Plus Mag: #31 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Shyronn Jones

    Plus Mag: #30 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Naimah O’Neal

    Plus Mag: #28 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Bre Campbell

    Plus Mag: #24 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Pat Shelton

    Plus Mag: #11 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Kari Hartel

    TheBody.com: HIV Justice Worldwide Releases “HIV Is Not A Crime Training Academy” Video
    TheBody.com: HIV Is Not a Crime: Building a Movement

    Westside Gazette: HIV Rapidly Becoming a Disease of Young People

    Plus Mag: #16 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Carrie Foote

    Undark: Stigma vs. Science: The Continued Criminalization of HIV

    TheBody.com: Microaggressions and Bias in the HIV Community – and What We Can Do About It

     

    JULY 2016

    TheBody.com: From Misinformation to Resorative Justice: Christian Hui on Tackling Criminalization (HINAC)

    A&U Mag: Wanda Brendle-Moss: Message Out of the Bottle

    TheBody.com: People with HIV Share Strategies for Outspoken and Relentless Advocacy
    TheBody.com: In Quest to End HIV Criminalization, Advocates Choose Their Words Carefully
    South Florida Gay News: The HIV Is Not a Crime National Training Academy

    AIDSMap: HIV Criminalization on the Rise, Especially in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Seattle Children’s Hospital Pulse: New Hope for HIV Treatment

    Plus Mag: #45 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Teresa Sullivan

    POZ: Poz Stories: Christina Carta

    Plus Mag: #42 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Janet Kitchen

    KOMO 4 News Seattle: Advances in Immunotherapy May Help Treat HIV

    Plus Mag: #41 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Loren Jones

    Plus Mag: #37 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Lepena Reid

    Plus Mag: #38 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Meta Smith-Davis

    Plus Mag: #36 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Venita Ray

    Plus Mag: #31 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Shyronn Jones

    Plus Mag: #30 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Naimah O’Neal

    Plus Mag: #28 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Bre Campbell

    Greater Than AIDS: Empowered: Trans Women & HIV

    JUNE 2016

    TheBody.com: Will California’s HIV Organ Transplant Law Help Scuttle HIV Criminalization?
    TheBody.com: As Race and Privilege Take Center Stage in HIV Community, a Call for Listening and Allyship

    Plus Mag: Will California’s HIV Organ Transplant Law Help Scuttle HIV Criminalization?
    Positively Aware: Can Older People Get Some…Satisfaction?

    TheBody.com: Grieving Orlando

    TheBody.com: Octavia Lewis Is Glad to Be Alive and Living Her Truth Without Apology
    TheBody.com: How HIV Stigma Compounded the Trauma of a Violent Anti-Gay Attack

    MAY 2016

    TheBody.com: 5 Ways to Fight HIV Stigma by Building Your Skills Online

    Plus Mag: Kerry Thomas HIV Criminalization Appeal Dismissed

    TheBody.com: HIV Survivors Need Support, Not Jail Cells

    A&U Mag: Julie Graham: Advocate

    Well Beyond HIV: I Want to Let Other Women Know

    Plus Mag: Second HIV Is Not a Crime Convention Draws Advocates from Across the U.S.

    Plus Mag: Clinton Promises She’ll Reform HIV Criminalization Laws

    Instinct Magazine: Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization

    Plus Mag: 10 Things I Learned from HIV Is Not a Crime II

    South Florida Gay News: HIV Is Not a Crime Event Starts May 17

    LGBTQ Nation: Hillary Clinton: HIV Is Not a Crime

    Logo TV NewNowNext: Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization Laws

    Unicorn Booty: What Will HIV Reform Look Like Under Clinton?

    Alabama Public Radio: AIDS Advocates Meeting Today in Huntsville

    POZ magazine (print edition June 2016): Surveying the Needs of Women with HIV

    POZ.com: HIV Is Not a Crime Training Academy Targets Unjust Laws

    TheBody.com: Activists Win Legislative Overhaul of Colorado’s HIV Criminalization Laws, Await Governnor’s Signature

    TheBody.com: Finding My Voice as a Woman Living with HIV

    Plus Mag: #55 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Pat Kelly

    Out Magazine: Hillary Clinton: HIV/AIDS Are Still with Us, We Still Have Work to Do

    POZ.com: Mark S. King Interviews Sean Strub at HIV Is Not a Crime II

    HIVEqual: What I Learned from HIV Is Not a Crime Training Academy
    LGBT Weekly: California Legislature Approves Bill Allowing Donation of HIV-Positive Organs

    San Diego Gay & Lesbian News: Bill Passes in CA to Allow HIV-Positive Organ Donation

    SF Chronicle: Legislature OKs Bill to Allow Transplants from Donors with HIV

    Gay Star News: It’s Now Legal to Donate HIV-Positive Organs in California

    Plus Magazine: California Governor Signs Historic HIV Bill

    TheBody.com: Kari Hartel, Advocate and Mom, Bridges the Gap Between HIV Long-Term Survivors and Newbies

    HRC Blog: HRC Participates in HIV Is Not A Crime II; Advocates to End Bad HIV Laws

    APRIL 2016

    TheBody.com: Young Women Living with HIV Deserve Support & Leadership Roles in HIV Community

    A&U Mag: Women’s HIV Program: Empowerment is Treatment

    Plus Mag: #70 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Evany Turk

    Plus Mag: #69 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Arianna Lint

    Plus Mag: #67 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Barb Cardell

    Plus Mag: #66 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Grissel Granados

    Plus Mag: #64 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Tranisha Arzah

    TheBody.com: Take Action! Tell Cass County Sheriff HIV Is Not a Crime

    The Well Project: Why Race Matters

    Positively Aware Mag: Caring about HIV Criminalization

    TheBody.com: State by State, People with HIV and Allies Fight to Change Laws

    TheBody.com: Living with HIV: Turning Points

    My Fabulous Disease (Mark King’s blog): The Comfort of Blaming Other People for New HIV Cases

    TheBody.com: Where Women with HIV Find Their Voice

    Plus Mag: #61 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Wanda Brendle-Moss

    Plus Mag: #60 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Octavia Y. Lewis

    MARCH 2016

    Huffington Post: Scary Statistics about Women and HIV

    amFAR.org: Let’s Talk About Health: A Conversation with Vanessa Johnson

    HIVEqual: Why Are Women with HIV Dying Earlier than Men?

    POZ: What One Thing Would Help Women with HIV Stay in Care?

    ETR blog: Wonder Woman Says: Fight for Justice on NWGHAAD

    Hello Beautiful: What Black Women Living with HIV Want You to Know

    Thebody.com: Groundbreaking Report Identifies Unique Needs of Women Living with HIV, Challenges to Engagement in Care

    Thebody.com: Women With HIV Face Sex Negativity, Shaming and Multiple Obstacles to Comprehensive Care, Survey Finds

    TheBody.com: Turning Anger Into Action: Clinton and Sanders Feel HIV Heat. Now Stand Up to Trump

    Al Jazeera English “The Stream”: Aging with HIV

    Washington Blade: The ‘Mystery’ Behind Clinton’s HIV Gaffe

    San Diego Union-Tribune: Advocating for Those with HIV/AIDS

    Proof Positive Radio Show (New Orleans): Interview with Rachel Moats

    TheBody.com: A Child’s Love: My Story of Self-Stigma and Redemption

    Philadelphia Gay News: Criminal Charges Against HIV-Positive Nurse Withdrawn

    HIVEqual: The Default Crime of Being HIV-Positive and Transgender

    Real Health Magazine: What One Thing Would Help Women with HIV Stay in Care?

    FEBRUARY 2016

    Ebony magazine: Faces of HIV: Sounding Off for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Da
    Westside Gazette: Not Leaving Anyone Out: Tackling HIV Criminalization as a Racial Justice & Public Health Priority

    POZ: Sexual Health Care for All

    San Francisco Chronicle: For Many Women, HIV Is Byproduct of a Lifetime of Trauma

    AIDS United Blog: AIDSWatch, Advocates & Activists: More Important than Ever

    PBS Independent Lens: Wilhemina’s War

    JANUARY 2016

    POZ magazine: Black Lives Matter

    The Daily Beast: The HIV Drug Half a Million Women Need

    My Fabulous Disease blog: 16 HIV Advocates to Watch in 2016

    TheBody.com: Organizational Sign-On: Demand the Entertainment Industry Do More in Supporting & Protecting Its Workers Living with HIV

    Charleston City Paper: Workers March for Higher Wages Outside Democratic Debate
    TheBody.com: Waheedah Shabazz-El Finds Spiritual Freedom as a Muslim Woman with HIV
    TheBody.com: Not Leaving Anyone Out: Tackling HIV Criminalization as a Racial Justice & Public Health Priority

    Washington Blade: In Dem Primaries, HIV Criminalization Remains an Orphan Issue

    DECEMBER 2015

    TheBody.com: PWN-USA Statement on the Federal Action Plan for NHAS

    TheBody.com: New U.S. HIV/AIDS Action Plan is More Strategic on Services but Overlooks Realities, Needs of Key Populations, Say Advocates

    Women’s Health magazine (Rachel Moats’s story): This Is What It’s Really Like to Live with HIV

    Futures Without Violence Health E-Bulletin

    TheBody.com: Join the Counter Conference at NHPC

    TheBody.com: How Buffalo Hump Can Affect Self Image, Threaten HIV Med Adherence: Rose’s Story

    A&U Magazine: Red, White & U

    CNN Health: Who’s Being Treated for HIV and Who’s Not

    KQED: It’s Not Hard to Treat HIV–Unless You’re Poor

    PBS NewsHour: Ending HIV May Hinge on Erasing Economic Disparities

    NOVEMBER 2015

    TheBody.com: Innocent or Unsavory? Women, HIV and the Charlie Sheen Media Storm
    TheBody.com: Let’s Honor the Importance of Networks for People Living with HIV This World AIDS Day

    AIDS United blog: Empowering Women to End HIV & Intimate Partner Violence

    Futures Without Violence blog: How to Support Women Living with HIV on World AIDS Day
    HIVE blog: Empowered Watch Party + Panel Discussion

    POZ.com: POZ 100

    The Pride LA: Californians Thriving with and Leading the Fight Against HIV

    Ravishly.com: World AIDS Day: HIV and American Women

    AIDS United blog: Can I Count on You?

    OCTOBER 2015

    HIVEqual.org: The Connection Between Women with HIV and Domestic Abuse

    Plus Magazine: Breaking the Silence, Breaking Out of the Violence

    Thebody.com: I Didn’t Want to Die, Saving Ourselves,Tainted Passion

    Poz.com Newsfeed: 2015 Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

    Lambda Legal blog: Commemorating the National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV
    The Feminist Wire: Self-Determination and the Struggle to End Violence Against WLHIV

    Edge Media Network News: National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

    National Women’s Health Network website: Help End Violence Against WLHIV!

    Women with a Vision website: WWAV Statement in Support of the National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

    Futures Without Violence blog: Guest Blogger: Supporting Women with HIV/AIDS

    The Well Project website: One out of Two Women Living with HIV Experiences Intimate Partner Violence: The Intersection of Violence, Trauma and WLHIV

    AIDS United Policy Blog: Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

    TheBody.com: Help Make Trauma-Informed Care the Next Legacy of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

    TheBody.com: Women, HIV and Intimate Partner Violence

    TheBody.com: Advocates Take Aim at ‘Targets’ of Updated NHAS

    TheBody.com: Networks Led by People with HIV Resurge in US

    POZ.com: Trauma & HIV

    kff.org: Women, HIV & Intimate Partner Violence

    “Our Voices” – Four PWN-USA leaders featured on the official Office on Women’s Health website for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, March 10, 2015

    Heather Arculeo, Co-Chair, PWN-USA-San Diego

    “Christie’s Place not only offered me services, but a sense of belonging, openness, acceptance, compassion, and understanding. I knew that I needed to be in a place like this, and vowed to help others so they wouldn’t feel trapped and isolated, as I once did. Now I am a full-time Retention in Care Peer Navigator at Christie’s Place.” In Heather’s voice

    Vickie Lynn, PWN-USA Member, Florida

    “At one time, I thought that helping one life at a time was what I wanted to do, yet today I know that by following my dreams and doing research, I have the potential of helping to improve hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.” In Vickie’s voice

    Rachel Moats, Member and Communications Rep, PWN-USA-San Diego

    “I firmly believe everything happens for a reason and HIV was simply the catalyst that helped me to become this amazing advocate for people living with HIV.” In Rachel’s voice

    Rose Todd-Stanford, Member and Outreach Coordinator, PWN-USA-Ohio

    “I’m still in the fight to end the spread of HIV/AIDS and improve awareness and treatment, with a particular focus on women and young girls. The future of our nation depends on it.” In Rose’s voice


    Outspoken for Others, POZ Magazine, March 2015

    p202_gina_brown_POZ“As one of 25 members of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), Gina Brown brings the voices of Southern African-American women living with HIV/AIDS to top U.S. policymakers.” Read more

     


    Sisterhood in Action – Q&A with PWN-USA Board Chair Barb Cardell, POZ Magazine, March 2015

    p202_barb_cardell_POZ“As women speak for ourselves and we’re heard, we find that so much can change in our lives. We realize that perhaps abusive situations and a lack of quality health care are no longer things we’re willing to live with.” Read more


    When Words Work Against Us: The Language of HIV Stigma, TheBody.com, February 15, 2015

    “Misinformation can be the enemy of hope when people are trying to make change, whether in their individual lives or at the broader public level. Using imprecise language to describe people living with HIV is an assured way of fostering fear and discrimination.” Read more, including quotes from PWN-USA founding member and staffer Waheedah Shabazz-El, and PWN-USA members Vickie Lynn and Valerie Wojciechowicz


    The 20 Most Amazing HIV-Positive Women of 2015, HIVPlus Magazine, February 2015

    Read more – featuring 17 PWN-USA members, including all PWN-USA Staff living with HIV!


    Words to Live By: Philadelphia Activist Asha Molock Turns Her Positive Thoughts into an Inspirational Book for People Living with HIV, A&U Magazine, February 5, 2015

     

     

    asha_AU_DSC_927-web7

    Photographed Exclusively for A&U by Freedom G Photography

     

    “This sharp, sexy, and vibrant sixty-four-year-old defies the term ‘senior citizen’ and refuses to dwell in the past. She isn’t looking in the rear-view mirror; she is only looking forward.” Read more

     


    Common Threads: An Integrated HIV Prevention and Vocational Development Intervention for African American Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, Vol. 7 (2014); Issue 7

    Congratulations to PWN-USA staff member and Common Threads founder Vanessa Johnson and her co-authors from the National Working Positive Coalition and other institutions, who are broadening the research and attention on the benefits of economic justice interventions by and for women with HIV. Read the abstract and download the full article


    Stigma Fuels Small Town HIV Hysteria in Michigan, TheBody.com, January 23, 2015

    “HIV stigma is more complicated than just HIV. HIV stigma is also homophobia. It is also racism. It is also prejudice against and caused by dislike of sex workers and drug users,” says PWN-USA Executive Director Naina Khanna. Read more


    From Darkness to Light: A Journey to Healing, by Houston PWN-USA Member Venita Ray, OutSmart Houston, January 1, 2015

    Venita_Yoga_OutSmart“This is a story about hope, change, and transformation. Change, for me, is usually motivated by insight or pain. In my case, HIV was the catalyst.” Read more

     


    The Top 15 HIV Fundraisers of 2014, EDGE Boston, December 29, 2014

    “Although technically an awareness campaign and not a fundraiser, the Positive Women’s Network — United States of America (PWN-USA) teamed up with Merck to launch ‘I Design,’ a national HIV educational campaign.” Read more


    How Do Policing Practices in the U.S. Affect HIV? TheBody.com, December 18, 2014

    “The Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) AIDS Philanthropy Summit convened in Washington, D.C., in the midst of daily vigils and marches calling for justice in the police killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others. So TheBody.com took a moment to ask conference attendees how policing practices in the U.S. affect the HIV epidemic.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA Executive Director Naina Khanna and other insightful allies


    Activists Must Address HIV in Reproductive Justice Advocacy, RH Reality Check, December 2, 2014

    “Reproductive justice provides an intersectional analytical framework that allows us to interrogate interlocking systems of power, and to address the root causes and the distributive impact of oppressive sexual and reproductive health policy, law, and culture on the lives of people living with HIV.” Read more by co-author Nerissa Irizarry, PWN-USA’s 2014-15 Reproductive Justice and HIV Legal Fellow


    Can a Judge Order People to Take HIV Medication? TheBody.com, November 3, 2014

    “There is a long history of public health measures being used to harm vulnerable people.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA’s Naina Khanna and Nerissa Irizarry


    Local Perspective: “Yes, There Are People in Your State Living with HIV” AIDVu.org, October 29, 2014

    AIDSVu is an interactive online map illustrating the prevalence of HIV in the US in stunning visual detail. In this blog entry, PWN-USA Board Chair and PWN-USA-Colorado leader Barb Cardell breaks down how this online mapping tool can be a powerful ally in advocacy. Read more


    Study Shows (PTSD) Among Women Living With HIV May Be 5x That Of The General Population Of Women: A Q&A with PWN-USA’s Naina Khanna, VisualAids.org, October 26, 2014

    naina_imatter_visaids“[Y]ou can’t take race and class out of the equation here. It’s no accident that most women with HIV in the US are women of color and low-income women, predominantly Black. The same women we’re not prioritizing in the HIV response are—guess what?— not prioritized in *any* response.” Read more

     


    Gender-Based Violence is a Leading Cause of HIV in Women and We Need to Stop It, HIVPlus Magazine, October 23, 2014

    “In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month this month, the Positive Women’s Network-USA spearheaded a National Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV. That’s today. Both events are like National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, in that they all serve as a great reminder that any resolution to the problem of women and HIV belongs not just to governments, and public health workers, or non-profit organizations, but to people like us. And violence is a problem.” Read more


    Was Cicely Bolden’s Murder the Ultimate Result of HIV Stigma? Experts Weigh In, HIVPlus Magazine, October 23, 2014

    “The chance that Larry Dunn would get HIV from Cicely Bolden via vaginal penetration is slim: four in 10,000. But with misinformation and stigma around HIV, he thought he was dying. Here’s what the experts are saying about Larry Dunn’s murder confession and why matters to anyone who cares about HIV.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA’s Naina Khanna


    Natl Day of Action to End Violence Against Women With HIV, EDGE Boston, October 23, 2014

    doa_squarememe_arial“Said PWN-USA-Philadelphia Co-Chair LaDonna Boyens: ‘I have walked in the shoes of women survivors of violence; when they look at me and see the advocacy I’m doing now, they might think, Maybe I can do helpful things for someone else, too.'” Read more, including quotes from other PWN-USA leaders

     


    Domestic Violence Affects Women Living with HIV at 2 Times National Rate; Trauma Complicates Treatment, Increases Infectiousness, AIDS United, October, 15, 2014

    AIDS United hosts Congressional Briefing to raise awareness about and address the intersection of women, violence and HIV. Read more, including quotes from Congressional Briefing participant Naina Khanna


    Southern States Are Now Epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., Washington Post, September 22, 2014

    “The original face of AIDS was that of a middle-class, often white, gay man living in New York or San Francisco. That picture has changed over time as people of color have become disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Today, the face of AIDS is black or Latino, poor, often rural — and Southern.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA-South Carolina member Deadra Malloy


    Transgender Women Living With HIV: New Study on Relationships Reflects Widespread Challenges, Reinforces Why Policies Must Change, TheBody.com, September 10, 2014

    “Stigma, discrimination and financial hardship experienced by one partner frequently affected physiological well-being and relationship quality for both partners.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA members and leaders Dee Borrego and Cecilia Chung


    Counseling Closes Racial Gaps in HIV Clinical Trials, HealthLine, September 12, 2014

    “No group is more affected by HIV than African-Americans, yet blacks and Hispanics are poorly represented in HIV and AIDS medical studies.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA and Women’s Research Initiative member Gina Brown

     


    People with HIV Suffer from Depression Caused by Shame, Trauma, Substance Abuse, HealthLine, September 2, 2014

    “Women with HIV often face poor health outcomes, usually due to stigma, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Positive Women’s Network-USA.” Read more


    Midlife Virus, POZ Magazine, September 2014

    “[HIV is] just a virus. I can’t let it stop me. I’m going to get everything I can get out of life.” Read more about PWN-USA-Philly leader Nancy Asha Molock, featured in an article about people diagnosed with HIV over 50

     


    Are Women Living With HIV “Incentivized” to Remain Poor? TheBody.com, August 14, 2014

    “[PWN-USA] hosted a recent webinar entitled Advancing Economic Justice and Employment Opportunities for Women Living With HIV, where Executive Director Naina Khanna called for a review of government policies requiring people living with HIV to keep their income under a certain level in order to qualify for subsidized medications and other benefits.” Read more

     


    Merck’s HIV Campaign, I Design, Partners with Music Industry Promoter and HIV Advocate Maria Davis and Positive Women’s Network – USA to Encourage Women Living with HIV to be “Vocal” about their Treatment (PDF)

    “Speaking Up” is Vital, Given the Significant Impact of the Disease on Women Read more


    Stemming Stigma, POZ Magazine, July/August 2014

    POZ_p197_stigma_Issuu_spread“HIV stigma among MSM is a hot topic, but stigma affects all groups, including women. ‘I’ve been living with HIV since 1993, and stigma hasn’t changed much,’ says Shari Margolese, a research consultant in Ontario, Canada, and a peer educator with the Positive Women’s Network (PWN), an international group. ‘People always want to know how you became positive. There has been a movement to define ‘good’ and ‘bad’ HIV-positive people.’

    In 2013, PWN-USA released the findings of a study on gender-based stigma and violence. Margolese was one of the co-authors. Seventy-two percent of positive women surveyed experienced intimate-partner violence, as opposed to a quarter of all women. Seventy percent had been sexually assaulted, compared with 20 percent of all women. Many women also expressed changes in perceptions of their body image and sexual desirability.” Read more


    HIV Stigma Violently Rages On: We Must Do Better, RH Reality Check, June 30, 2014

    “The desperate need for current information about HIV and for positive messaging to counteract HIV stigma, plus the fact that six in ten Americans say that most of what they know about HIV and AIDS comes from the media, made the television news report about A.F.’s arraignment all the more deplorable. The reporter buzzes that the complainant ‘asked [A.F.] if she was clean before they became intimate.’

    Clean?

    The station’s unflinching adoption of this term blithely reinforces the notion that a person living with HIV is dirty, tainted, lesser.

    It is this very devaluation of people living with HIV that was the direct cause of Elisha Henson’s death. In her honor, and in the honor of Cecily Bolden, who was killed by a lover nearly two years ago in Texas because of her HIV status, we must commit to do more and do better.

    We at HIV Law Project stand behind the recommendations released last week by our allies at Positive Women’s Network-USA.” Read more


    KC-area project utilizes churches for TIPS on addressing AIDS among blacks, KCPT, June 27, 2014

     

     

    latrischa and yvonne taking it to the pews

    LaTrischa Miles (left) and Yvonne Richmond were two of the women who organized the Taking it to the Pews AIDS-awareness project at Mt. Carmel Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Kan. (Photo by Mike Sherry/The Hale Center for Journalism)

     

    “Years in the making, the project aims to leverage the credibility of the church in the black community to attack a disease that disproportionately affects African Americans. … And now, Berkely-Patton and her colleagues are poised to take what could be the final step in what may become a tool for black churches across the country to address AIDS – as well as exploring whether the TIPS [Taking it to the Pews] model can help reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases within the black community. …

    ‘If we could organize around an issue as complex as this, with the stigma and the lack of education,’ [PWN-USA Board member LaTrischa Miles] said, ‘then I think we can tackle anything.'” Read more


    POZ at 20: Twenty Survivors Share Their Stories, POZ Magazine, June 2014

    “Over nearly 200 covers, POZ did something else: We charted the byways of the epidemic as it wended its way through the various (and often vulnerable and oppressed) communities affected by HIV/AIDS in the United States and around the world: gay and bisexual men, intravenous drug users, people with hemophilia, sex workers, African Americans and other people of color, prisoners, transgender people, etc. These individuals and communities were not only HIV’s targets but also its fiercest fighters.” Read more


    Alum Shines Light on Where Abuse and HIV Collide, STATEside, May 19, 2014

    “Earlier this year, School of Social Work graduate Kat Griffith, M.S.W. ’14, sat at a table in Washington, D.C., with policy makers, advocates and members of President Barack Obama’s administration, discussing the perils HIV-positive women face in abusive relationships.

    ‘In the world of HIV, we look at it so medically,’ said Griffith. ‘We think if we give everyone the pills, they will all survive just fine. But women are still dying because they are surrounded by violence. Their HIV might be in control, but their lives are not.’

    For decades, Griffith has been an advocate bringing light to the intersection between HIV and women in abusive relationships. Her invitation to the White House is only one step in a battle that is deeply personal.” Read more


    Why Now Is a Terrible Time to Disrupt Care for Women Living With HIV, RH Reality Check, May 16, 2014

    “May 11-17 marks National Women’s Health Week, when the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Women’s Health encourages women to get checkups and health screenings and build relationships with their health-care providers. Meanwhile, a significant source of care for women, infants, children, and youth living with HIV is under attack.” Read more

     


    Stigma Drives Workplace Discrimination Against Workers Living With HIV, RH Reality Check, May 7, 2014

    “Like [PWN-USA Board Chair Barb] Cardell, people who are HIV-positive from ‘every imaginable kind of job’ — including health care, food service, and law enforcement — have experienced workplace discrimination in one form or another.” Read more


    Understanding the Promise: Considering the Experiences of Women Living with HIV to Maximize Effectiveness of HIV Prevention Technologies, Women’s Health Issues, March 2014

    whi_logo“Women are more than partners and mothers of children. Women’s needs are not well-served by plans in which they are present only by implication.” PWN-USA leaders and allies know that women living with HIV are a rich source of first-hand information regarding women’s HIV prevention and care needs — and that this resource is largely untapped. Now, evidence to support this knowledge has been published in the latest edition of Women’s Health Issues in an article researched and written almost entirely by women living with HIV! This publication is a major step forward in amplifying the voices of women living with HIV not only in advocacy, but in research as well. Read the abstract of the paper here and read the full manuscript here…


    Positive Women’s Network – USA: Sisters of Change, A&U Magazine, March 7, 2014

    waheedah_aumag“African-American women are more impacted by HIV than women of any other race or ethnicity in the U.S. Yet when it comes to addressing their plight, it’s mostly men who call the shots and set the agenda. Meet five positive women from across the country who are committed to being a part of the solution, fighting for gender equity.

    “They call themselves ‘Sisters of Change.’ As members of Positive Women’s Network-USA, they motivate women living with HIV to get involved in all levels of policy and decision-making. They’re raising their voices for women’s rights in the HIV-positive community, refusing to be counted out. In a no-holds-barred discussion, a group of female activists share their stories of surviving the past, embracing the present, and empowering themselves to change the course of the future.” Read more

     


    Empowering Entrepreneurs: How an HIV intervention grew into a microenterprise, POZ Magazine, March 2014

    P194__threads_women“As she worked in the field, [Vanessa] Johnson observed that when women finally did come out to talk about their history, they didn’t talk about HIV specifically. Instead, she recalls, ‘when women told their stories, they talked about their childhood. And just like me, they suffered a lot of trauma in the form of abuse. I thought about it intuitively and was like, “This is a common thread.”‘

    “Thus, in 2007 she launched Common Threads, what is now a five-day, small-group training session that she offers around the country. It’s designed to help HIV-positive women connect the dots between their life experiences and their positive status and then to increase their willingness to tell their stories and disclose their status to their families, friends and communities. It’s storytelling as a means for disclosure, self-empowerment, HIV prevention and activism.” Read more


    Play Smart Together – With Dee Borrego, Visual AIDS, February 11, 2014

    dee-borrego“In the hazy and heady days of my early life as a person with HIV, I was filled with a passion to fight and rail against the injustices I was experiencing. I felt angry at everyone – at society, at my life, and especially about my ex who had infected me and condemned me to a different life than the one I had known before. …

    “My anger convinced me to search out any legal protections or ramifications of my ex’s behavior. I wanted more than anything to find a way to find some sort of security in the law …

    “Through my own education as an activist and HIV educator, and through my own lens as a Mexican-American, Jewish transwoman raised in a majority White, Christian environment, I’ve found that my perception and understanding of the application of law in modern American society is hideously biased.” Read more


    Your Call: How Far Have We Come With HIV/AIDS Activism? KALW Public Radio San Francisco, January 30, 2014

    bodycounts_justcoverWhat can we learn from the first wave of HIV/AIDS activism in the US? What’s the divide between the different communities who’ve been hit by this disease?

    Guests:

    Sean Strub, long-time gay rights and AIDS activist, author of Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival

    Naina Khanna, executive director of Positive Women’s Network – USA. Listen to this interview


    Absolutely Positive: The Story of Tami Haught, ABC5News Des Moines, January 30, 2014

     

     

    woman signing a form

    Credit: ABC5News WOI-DT

     

    “As another legislative session gets underway, thousands of people will be there, pushing for new laws and policy. One woman, in particular, has spent many years fighting for change.

    “Her story is so fascinating, she’s been called one of the top 100 unsung heroes of her cause. And in her words, she is traveling a most unlikely path.

    “When you first meet Tami Haught, you get the impression she is exactly the person you want in your corner if you are in the fight of your life. And that’s what she does, fight, on behalf of Iowans living with HIV and AIDS.” Read more


    Sister Solidarity, POZ Magazine, January 2014

    POZ_khanna“I work with the most badass and fierce group of women I have ever known. I have so much respect for every single one of them. They inspire me every day to not just keep in the work but to do it better, to do more or to do it differently.

    “We want a world where women with HIV are valued, where there is justice for everyone with or vulnerable to HIV, and where our rights are upheld. As long as there are things like criminalization laws and discrimination of any kind against people with HIV, as long as there is gender inequality or there is violence, there will be a need to continue the work.” Read more


    Building an Organized Voice for U.S. Women Living With HIV: Part One of a Two-Part Conversation, TheBody.com, December 2, 2014

    pkelly_150x150“Female HIV advocates have been active in responding to the HIV epidemic since its earliest days. Yet there is a dearth of leadership by women, and especially women living with HIV, in HIV organizations and in the communities most greatly impacted by HIV. Enter the Positive Women’s Network of the United States of America (PWN-USA, or PWN), which formed in June 2008 — not only to prepare women living with HIV to be leaders, but to build the strategic power of all women living with HIV in the U.S., and to train a gender equality and human rights lens on the HIV epidemic as a whole. This year saw a milestone in PWN-USA’s development, when the network became an independent organization.

    “In part one of this conversation, five women living with HIV who have been part of PWN-USA since its founding talk about how the network came to be, and the strides made in its first five years. Read part two of the discussion, in which these leaders map PWN-USA’s path forward in expanding its work and living its values — and what this will mean for U.S. women living with HIV in the years to come. Read more; read Part Two


    HIV-positive women seek to reduce stigma: new report opens long overdue conversation for underserved community, Al Jazeera America, December 2, 2013

    Nainaheadshot“The U.S. network of HIV-positive women (PWN-USA), a national organization for women living with HIV, has dedicated a new report to Bolden. Her murder brought to light a number of issues facing the 300,000 women in this country who live with HIV, including their disproportionate experience of violence at the hands of romantic partners. Bolden, 28, put a face on a population that bears the brunt of the epidemic: African-American women who account for two-thirds of new HIV cases among women in the U.S.

    […] “It’s commonly understood that gay men with HIV are having sex,” Khanna said. […] But similar conversations are not happening among HIV-positive women, which is why PWN-USA released its landmark survey assessing “the state of sexual and reproductive health and rights for women living with HIV in the U.S.” The study is based on questionnaires crafted by the research team that were then completed by HIV-positive women around the U.S.” Read more.


    World AIDS Day 2013: Vanessa Johnson on motherhood, activism and HIV, the Grio, December 1, 2013

    What does it mean to live with HIV? For Vanessa Johnson, it means gathering strength from family and friends, and to never give up on finding love …

    vanessa_johnsonAttorney Vanessa Johnson was diagnosed with HIV after losing her husband to an illness she says doctors insisted was anything other than AIDS.

    “Because were were a heterosexual couple, it never occurred to [our doctors] that we might have HIV,” she says. “They kept telling us it was anything else but that: the measles, mononucleosis, just all kinds of things other than HIV.” Continue reading.


    PWN-USA’s Response to Tyler Perry’s Film Temptation

    An Open Letter to Tyler Perry from a coalition of advocates.

    PWN-USA Press Release:
    Tyler Perry’s “Temptation” Sentences People Living with HIV to a Lifetime of Stigma and Isolation

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact:
    Waheedah Shabazz-El, Founding Member, iamshabazz@yahoo.com, (267) 231-2647
    Sonia Rastogi, Communications Director, sbrastogi@gmail.com, (408) 306-6805

    April 16, 2013, New York, NY – “Tyler Perry’s Temptation left me emotionally pained, angry and disappointed. Mr. Perry, a brilliant film maker, missed a genuine opportunity for honest and accurate community education around HIV. Instead, Temptation perpetuated HIV sensationalism and stigma. It demonized people living with HIV as irresponsible and portrayed women who acquire HIV as an undesirable, reclusive, sub-species, destined to live out their lives in suffering commented Waheedah Shabazz-El, a woman living with HIV.

    Two weekends and $212.7 million later, Tyler Perry’s film Temptation perpetuates the War on Women, fuels stigma and discrimination towards people of color and people living with HIV, and condones the belief that people living with HIV are sinners, who deserve punishment. Read more here.


    PWN-USA on BETAblog: National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2013

    by Reilly O’Neal, San Francisco AIDS Foundation Political leaders and medical and service providers have a part to play in employing these new tools to help reduce HIV stigma and discrimination. “The conversations that providers and policymakers should now be having are: ‘Given the new science, what is my role in normalizing a discussion of sex, sexuality, and reproduction that is evidence-based and affirming of people living with HIV?’” Read more


    PWN-USA in the Media: Feminism Should Be Inclusive and Flexible, NY Times February 18, 2013

    By Dani McClain, a Nation Institute fellow reporting on reproductive health and sexuality

    P1030415To understand where feminism is headed, look to today’s reproductive justice movement. Check out the Mother’s Day cards celebrating nontraditional families that took the Internet by storm last year. Talk to the network of H.I.V.-positive women determined to shape the policies that affect them. Efforts like these are winning hearts and minds because they acknowledge what many of us have long known: An individual’s ability to chart her own course is intimately tied to what’s happening in her family and community. Read more.


    World AIDS Day 2012 on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Show

    SBR MHPCheck out PWNer Sonia Rastogi speak on prevention justice, violence against women, and economic justice! Watch the video here.


    Securing Care for Women Living with HIV: Challenges and Solutions for HIV-positive Women, Positively Aware, Sept/Oct 2012 Issue

    By Naina Khanna
    Five years ago, women had the dubious distinction of surpassing men as the majority of people in the world living with HIV. And in some countries, including Cambodia, Mozambique, and Rwanda, women now comprise nearly two-thirds of people living with the virus.

    In the U.S., the HIV epidemic looks very different. Women comprise over a quarter of the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S.—not including transgender women, for whom no accurate data are available. […] Data from 2012 show that in the District of Columbia, rates of new HIV diagnosis among black women have doubled. In Maryland, 35% of all AIDS diagnoses are among women, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 36.4% of people with an AIDS diagnosis were women in 2009. […] Let’s be clear: this is not a numbers game anyone wants to win.”
    Read the full article here…


    The Female Face of HIV: ‘We don’t have to care for ourselves,’ NBC News, July 24, 2012

    By Maggie Fox
    “Another factor may be domestic abuse. A team at the University of California San Francisco published a study on Monday showing that physical and sexual abuse and trauma are major factors affecting which women become infected.

    ‘For a long time we have been looking for clues as to why so many women are becoming infected with HIV and why so many are doing poorly despite the availability of effective treatment,” said Dr. Edward Machtinger, who led the study. “Women who report experiencing trauma often do not have the power or self-confidence to protect themselves from acquiring HIV.'”
    Read the full article here…


    Domestic Violence Doubles Risk of Death for HIV+ Women, POZ Treatment News, July 31, 2012

    By Laura Whitehorn
    “Naina Khanna, the US-PWN coordinator and policy director at WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Disease), who moderated the [AIDS 2012] press conference, said, ‘Five years ago women had the dubious distinction of surpassing men in the world in HIV. Increasing evidence suggests gender-based violence is a major reason for this distinction.’ “
    Read the full article here…


    Guest Blog on The Feminist Wire: Creating a Biological Underclass: A Reality of Poverty for HIV+ Women, May 4, 2012

    By Sonia Rastogi
    “The same women who experience homelessness, sexual and/or intimate partner violence, surveilling of our bodies because of our gender identities, trepidation if we live in highly policed communities, and criminalization because of the color of our skin, who we love, and our immigration status are the same women who are disproportionately affected by HIV. One cannot separate HIV from the reproductive justice movement, the labor movement, or any other movement for that matter. Our movements must be integrated! Our push towards integration must be verbalized! And all women’s lives and bodies must be accounted for!” Read the full article here…


    NEWS FLASH: health care services are changing for people living with HIV

    January 17, 2011: Healthcare reform may have unintended consequences for HIV/AIDS patients by Mary Flynn on HealthyCal.org
    Featuring PWNer Loren Jones and Sonia Rastogi – “Loren Jones was diagnosed with HIV 28 years ago. A relatively low viral load meant that for a long time, Jones, a 59-year-old African American woman, didn’t feel sick at all. “I ignored it completely,” she says of the first few years of her illness.” Read more.

    January 20, 2011: Medicalizing HIV: Will Social Services Get Squeezed Out? by Zaineb Mohammed on New American Media
    Featuring PWNer Loren Jones and allies Dr. Monica Gandhi – “Major medical breakthroughs over the past year in the treatment of HIV/AIDS are setting off some surprising alarm bells. While praised for their life-saving potential, they are causing a change in the dynamics of HIV/AIDS care – a shift that may squeeze out social services needed to support patients while they’re in treatment.Read more.


    World AIDS Day 2011 & Count Us In! campaign launch

    On December 1st, 2011, U.S. Positive Women’s Network launched Count Us In!, a national campaign focused on upholding the rights of women living with HIV to achieve high-quality health care. PWNers across the country launched the campaign in their communities from Detroit, MI to Fort Collins, CO. In Oakland, CA the campaign launched with a press conference featuring Mayor Jean Quan, the Office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and the Office of Assembly Member Sandre Swanson.

    KPFA 94.1:

    The Morning Mix with Andres – December 1, 2011 at 8:00am

    Click to listen (or download)

    Letters and Politics – December 1, 2011 at 10:00am

    Click to listen (or download)

    Hard Knock Radio with Anita Johnson

    “HIV+ Women in Oakland Demand, ‘Count Us In,'” New American Media featuring PWNer Sonia Rastogi

    “Spiral of invisibility hides the continuing peril of AIDS in Silicon Valley,” San Jose Mercury News featuring PWNer Naina Khanna and WORLD Executive Director Cynthia Carey-Grant

    “Oakland Women’s Group to Kick Off New Campaign on World AIDS Day,” Oakland North featuring PWNer Sonia Rastogi

    “AIDS Day a time to remember, time to talk,” Galesburg News featuring PWNers Kat Griffith

    “Michigan Health depts targeting HIV-positive women unfairly, experts say,” the Wasington Informer featuring PWNer Nicole Seguin


    Giving Advocates a Voice: An Update with PWN in BETA Magazine


    Philadelphia ACTUP chapter going strong

    “Waheedah Shabazz-El is a 58-year-old heterosexual African American Muslim woman from Overbrook who discovered she was HIV positive while in prison in 2003.

    She also is a member of the official U.S. delegation to the United Nations’ high-level meeting that this week will test the extent of the world’s commitment to ending AIDS.

    In who she is and how far she has come, Shabazz-El represents the trajectory of an epidemic that has infected more than one million Americans and 60 million people worldwide – and triggered powerful advocacy forces that have changed medicine and culture – since a weekly federal report first described a mysterious disease in five gay men 30 years ago on Sunday.”

    Read the full article here.


    30 years of HIV: AIDS in the ’90s: ‘I wasn’t going to die miserably’

    June 1, 2011 – PWN Founding Member Linda Scruggs talks with CNN about her experiences living with HIV as part of CNN’s 30 years of AIDS Coverage series. June 5, 2011 marks 30 years since the first case of HIV recorded. Linda is a powerful and courageous leader who discusses her journey living with HIV and her inspiration to serve women, youth and families.

    Read CNN’s article and watch Linda’s video here!


    KQED News: More Asian American Women Contracting HIV

    May 17, 2011 – In honor of National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on May 19th, 2011, The Banyan Tree Project, an HIV anti-stigma campaign, and Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center hosted a press conference on A&PI women and HIV. PWNer Sonia Rastogi spoke on the press conference panel about the barriers to testing, treatment and care for A&PI women.

    Listen to KQED’s coverage here!


    The Princess Warrior: One Woman’s Battle for Survival and How It Has Made Her Stronger

    May 5, 2011 – Positively Aware, the HIV Treatment Journal of the Test Positive Aware Network, features Barb Marcotte, PWN Steering Committee Member, who discusses her battle with HIV and the fight that needs to happen!

    Excerpt:
    “I am 43 years old now. It is time to change these thoughts and behaviors. Truth is, I know I am a sexy, strong woman—a true DIVA living with HIV. I know deep down, that fight is still there. It has been buried under a lot of shit for years, but I am there. The real me.” – Barb Marcotte

    Click here to read the full article.


    Poz Profiles: 31 at 30 with LaTrischa Miles

    “I used to count my years because of my fears, now I want to make my years count.” – LaTrischa Miles

    June issue – To commemorate 30 years of HIV, June’s feature issue of POZ Magazine is “31 Long-Term Survivors for 30 years of AIDS.” PWN Advisory Group Member LaTrischa Miles from Kansas City Free Clinic discusses about her experiences and provides a beacon of hope for all. Read the full article here.

    Click here to read the full article.


    “This Positive Life” video series from theBody.com: An Interview with Dee Borrego

    Dee Borrego headshotApril 2011 – Each month theBody.com posts videos from This Positive Life, a monthly videos series that interviews with people living with HIV to talk about their experiences giving you the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of what it means to live — and live well — with HIV. Check out April’s interview with Dee Borrego, one of PWN’s Founding Members. PWN thanks theBody.com for it’s phenomenal work!

    Click here for the interview and video!


    2011 Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:
    “A survivor’s story: Life beyond an HIV diagnosis”

    March 10, 2011: Acintia Wright featured on CBS 8 evening news, San Diego, CA


    2011 Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:
    PWN-Philadelphia chosen to represent HIV+ women; Philadelphia Mayor’s recognition

    In recognition of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy’s 12 Cities initiative, Community Education Group, founded by A. Toni Young, launched “It’s Time for Action” for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a nation-wide campaign taking place in 12 U.S. cities to reflect the urgent response required to combat the epidemic among women and girls. The PWN-Philadelphia chapter was chosen as the sponsoring organization in Philadelphia to represent women and girls on this day. In addition, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter officially recognized WGHAAD on behalf of PWN-Philly’s efforts.

    Read about PWN-Philly | Read more about the “It’s Time for Action” and the 12 Cities Initiative here


    “The truth is, we do know which women are most likely to acquire HIV. All women may be at risk, but low-income women — especially black and Latina women in major urban areas with high HIV rates — have a much greater risk of HIV infection.”
    – Naina Khanna

    Women and HIV: A Nuanced Epidemic by Naina Khanna, Achieve: a joint publication of ACRIA and GMHC, Summer 2010