One month ago, Positive Women's Network descended on Washington, D.C. to make the voices of trans and cis women living with HIV heard, and fight for the issues that matter most to our communities. A staggering fifty-one PWN members attended, including seven state leads, where they held in-person meetings with approximately one hundred and twenty offices on Capitol Hill!

We are so proud to have contributed meaningfully to an advocacy day where 56% of attendees identified as a person living with HIV. In addition to legislative visits, PWN members hosted workshops, led conversations, spoke in panels, and even won awards!

Images courtesy of Denis Largeron Photography and AIDS United.

#PWNSpeaks: Blogs from PWN Members

But what could be a better way to learn about everything PWN did at AIDSWatch than directly from our members? Read all about the experiences of four PWN members directly from them below!

"Congress must address ongoing and persistent unfair and discriminatory practices that perpetuate structural and institutional racism and other inequities like Voting rights, Criminalization, LGBTQ+ rights, Gender justice, Reproductive rights, Sex Workers rights, and protecting immigrants..."

"Finally, it was the big day. I tried to dress nice while also warm because it was freezing cold, and I didn’t forget to wear comfortable shoes, because I knew there was going to be a lot of walking. I’m glad I did..."

"Somehow my acceptance email for my AIDSWatch ’24 scholarship was lost in my email and the policy director at AIDS Alabama identified the co-chairs of PWN-AL and asked us if we wanted to attend AIDSWatch. I jumped at it and said yes..."

"We each bring different priorities and different skill sets, but perhaps exuberance connected to all this empowerment and the reaffirmation that each one of us is invaluable was one of the most excellent parts of the whole event..."