In this issue:

  • Shero of the Month: Kneeshe Parkinson
  • Working to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV
  • Elections Have Consequences: Mobilizing for Our Lives
  • Birthright Citizenship Is Guaranteed by the 14th Amendment
  • Vote for PWN for POZ Best Video Series!

Shero of the Month: Kneeshe Parkinson

Our October 2018 Shero of the Month is Kneeshe Parkinson of St. Louis, Missouri. She is the PWN State Lead for Missouri, a current PWN Policy Fellow, and a fierce advocate.

Advocacy runs in Kneeshe’s veins: She grew up in a family of activists. “Before I knew anything about lobbying or mobilizing, my dad was an activist. He went to all the marches in D.C. for civil rights. Everyone participated.” Her aunt Helena Hatch, who died of AIDS-related complications in the early ’80s, was a particular inspiration for Kneeshe’s advocacy, marching in the streets under her slogan–“Women need to know,” bringing people to get tested, handing out condoms in public parks, and leading the fight for women living with HIV locally.

“I eat, breathe, and sleep advocacy,” said Kneeshe. “If my voice goes dormant, who am I helping? I can’t shut up. I’m a woman living with HIV first. My voice does matter. I can’t change my diagnosis, but I can adapt in a meaningful way to improve life for others.”

Kneeshe cites her involvement in Positive Women’s Network – USA as a highlight in her years of advocacy–in particular, being a PWN Policy Fellow. “Being part of PWN has enlightened me,” she explained. “I’ve had the opportunity to learn, to be chosen to do this work in policy. Hearing the lived experiences that others have walked through; all the women I’ve had an opportunity to sit down with and talk to, knowing they’re at the forefront of a movement” has helped her grow and think big.

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Nominate your shero for PWN Shero of the Month here!


Working to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV: Identifying and Tackling the Root Causes

With community events around the country, including an action-packed lunch and learn in Atlanta; a Twitter chat with special guest co-hosts from COLOR, Futures Without Violence, If/When/How, National Network to End Domestic Violence, North Carolina AIDS Action Network, SisterSong and The Well Project; and a virtual coffee table discussion of #PWNCares – Living & Loving Well with HIV, our fifth annual Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV raised awareness of the many forms of violence women and people of trans experience living with HIV face–and of the root causes and solutions.

PWNers understand that, while women living with HIV face far higher rates of intimate partner violence and sexual assault, these do not happen in a vacuum. Racism, poverty, limited access to health care and resources, sexism, transphobia, and other structural factors increase vulnerability to HIV–and HIV itself increases vulnerability to violence. When we have access to what we need to take care of ourselves and our families, we are better able to leave–and avoid–situations where our health, safety, and wellbeing are harmed or threatened.

We know our allies and partners understand, too–that’s why 65 organizations and countless individuals signed on to endorse our 2018 Day of Action.

If you missed our virtual coffee table on Oct. 23 with 3 resilient survivors of intimate partner violence living with HIV, you can watch the recording here–-and you can also stream or download the full PWNCares: Living & Loving Well with HIV video and a discussion guide for use in groups or meetings.

Elections Have Consequence: Mobilizing for Our Lives

If we want to protect healthcare, reproductive rights, the environment and bodily autonomy for all people of all genders, it’s time to mobilize like we never have before. When we protect the rights of people of all races, genders, and any immigration status to bodily autonomy, safety, economic security, proper health care, housing, education, and opportunity, violence against our communities will no longer be tolerated.

Our regional chapters in Colorado, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas have been working tirelessly for months to register, engage, educate, and mobilize voters. Each chapter has reached hundreds of voters in their communities–and now, in this crucial crunch time, they are working hard on getting them to the polls.

On our National HIV Get Out the Vote Day last Wednesday, Oct. 24, the chapters texted and called through their lists of voters to remind them about how to vote, where to vote, and check if rides to the polls are needed.

But it wasn’t just our chapters! Members and allies across the country made phone calls and texted friends and family to remind them to vote and share information about key dates, deadlines and requirements.

And we’re not done yet! With less than one week to go till Election Day, and voting already underway in 37 states, we are working to make sure every eligible voter’s voice is counted in this critical election.

Want to help PWN get out the vote? Check out our #PWNVotes election toolkit here.

Birthright Citizenship Is Guaranteed by the 14th Amendment

Yesterday, we heard some shocking news. Trump announced plans to issue an executive order that would purport to revoke the right to citizenship for children born on US soil to non-US citizens, often called “birthright citizenship,” in an interview for Axios on HBO. This is the one of the most severe lines that Trump has taken in his dangerous anti-immigration campaign and is clearly racist, xenophobic pandering to his base in advance of November 6.

Rest assured, the move would be nearly certainly unconstitutional. Birthright citizenship is expressly enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, which reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

In order to do what Trump wants, most constitutional scholars agree that the Constitution would have to be amended, an incredibly difficult process that requires a proposal with two-thirds majority approval from both Houses of Congress (or the States through a constitutional convention), and then ratification by three fourths of state legislatures.

Please know, in this time of belligerent political rhetoric and actions, we see you, appreciate you, and support you. This fearmongering will only motivate us more to get out the vote. See you on the streets and in the voting booths!

Vote for PWNCares for POZ Best Video Series!

We are honored to have had our interactive multimedia series, #PWNCares, nominated for Best Video  Series in the POZ Awards! Be sure to vote for your favorite nominees by the World AIDS Day deadline: Saturday, December 1, 2018.

Vote now!