PWN Policy Fellowship 2026 Trainings

Check out the training series from our most recent year of the PWN’s policy fellowship. These trainings support building the pipeline of well-informed and strategic policy advocates who come directly from the communities most impacted by the HIV epidemic in the United States: BIPOC women, trans, and gender-diverse people living with HIV.

HIV BASIC

HIV BASIC is a group of advocates, including people living with HIV (PLHIV), abolitionists, researchers, racial justice and human rights organizers, and public health policy and legal experts working together to address the crisis connecting health status criminalization, public health, and the ever-broadening erosion of privacy and bodily autonomy in the United States. This statement establishes shared principles and commitments for an HIV response grounded in bodily autonomy, informed consent, and freedom from criminalization.

HIV Racial Justice Now! Framework

Presented by the Racial Justice Framework Group, this document is our declaration of liberation. It begins to name and claim a collective vision for resistance practice in the HIV movement, grounded in racial justice. It is our assertion that any response to the impact of HIV must be rooted in a racial justice framework. 

Bodily Autonomy: A Framework to Guide Our Future

Bodily autonomy is the simple but radical concept that individuals have the right to control what does and does not happen to our bodies. When we have full bodily autonomy, not only are we empowered to make decisions about our health and future – without coercion or control by others – we also have the support and resources needed to meaningfully carry out these decisions.

The concept of bodily autonomy is central to Positive Women’s Network – USA’s vision of a world where all trans and cis women, gender-diverse, and trans people living with HIV can lead long, healthy, and dignified lives, free from stigma, discrimination, and violence in all forms.

#PWNVotes

#PWNVotes is PWN-USA’s approach to building long-term political power that advances racial, gender, and reproductive justice, transforming systems and shifting narratives by engaging our members, allies, and communities in conversations about the issues that matter most to people living with HIV.

HR1: Big Ugly Murder Bill Resource Center

The Big Ugly Murder Bill (H.R.1) is a federal law that slashes funding for healthcare and other basic needs programs while increasing funding for Trump’s massive deportation project. It passed last summer and it will continue to wreak havoc on our quality of life and access to care over the next decade. To help you stay on top of what’s changing and what you can do about it, we created the HR1: Big Ugly Murder Bill Resource Center.

The Resource Center is a living document! Every month we will break down the latest updates and lay out what they mean for people living with HIV, especially Black and brown communities, immigrants, women, cisgender and transgender and gender diverse people living with HIV, who are often hit first and the hardest.

How To Create A Powerful Public Comment (2026)

Federal agencies make big policy changes through a “rulemaking process.ˮ Federal law requires agencies to gather, consider, and address public comments when finalizing proposed rules. They might or might not change a proposed rule because of what we say.

Nevertheless, the more unique comments submitted show the force of our collective opposition. Public comments can help lawyers challenge harmful rules and can encourage Congress to reverse an agency decision through the lawmaking process. Most importantly, the public comment process ensures that you – your voice, your experience, and your community – are on the record.

A How-To Guide to Advocacy for People Living with HIV

At PWN-USA, we envision a world where those most impacted by policies are the driving voices behind setting priorities and making decisions.

People living with HIV have a stake in all types of government decisions and actions — from education to health care; housing to mass incarceration; employment to civil rights – and we must participate in crafting and changing policies to ensure that they meet our needs. This multimedia guide is designed to help us make justice for our communities a reality.

Check out our most recently updated 2026 factsheets! Huge shoutout to our past intern Treasure Welle for drafting them, and our members that contributed: Bee (Brandi) Velasquez, LaDawn Tate, Melanie A. Reese, Kneeshe Parkinson, Valerie Pinkston, Brooke Davidoff, and Alyssa Crawford.

HIV Criminalization Factsheet (Oct 2026)

HIV criminalization means using laws and policies to punish people living with HIV for non-disclosure of status, perceived exposure to HIV, or transmission of the virus. Check out this resource to learn more about the numbers, the devastating impacts, hear someone’s story, and see our policy recommendations. 

Harm Reduction & Decriminalization of Sex Work Factsheet (Oct 2026)

Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction keeps people safe. It doesn’t judge people for sex work or drug use — it just tries to lower the risks. It puts safety, rights, and dignity first. The idea is simple: meet people where they are.

Check out this resource to learn more about the numbers, the devastating impacts, and see our policy recommendations.

Abortion Access, Gender-Affirming Care, & Gag Rules Factsheet (Oct 2026)

Healthcare is a human right. Abortion care and gender-affirming care are healthcare. Reproductive justice as defined by Sister Song (the largest national multi-ethnic reproductive justice collective) means bodily autonomy—the right to have children, not have children, and parent in safe communities. Gag rules strip those right away.

Check out this resource to learn more about the types of gag rules, how they are being used now, the devastating impacts, and our policy recommendations.

HIV Criminalization as Violence Against Women Living with HIV Factsheet (Oct 2026)

HIV criminalization hurts people living with HIV, increases HIV stigma, undermines public health efforts, and is rooted in anti-Black racism. Many of the acts that are criminalized, like having sex with an undetectable viral load, spitting, or biting, don’t actually transmit HIV. These laws don’t stand alone. They connect to other systems that hurt women: intimate partner violence (IPV), the criminalization of sex work and poverty, prison, and immigration enforcement.

Check out this resource to learn more about the connection of disclosure, violence, and criminalization; hear a member’s story; and our policy recommendations.  

Government Shutdown Factsheet (Nov 2025)

Have you been flooded with news of the government shutdown? Confused as to how we got here? Check out our factsheet which breaks down the major pieces of the puzzle with ways you can take action.

Share this with your networks, use it in a call with your representatives, print one out and take it with you. There’s so many ways to use it!

Unpacking the Process Factsheet (2021)

This factsheet will provide a primer on what the executive branch and administrative agencies do, what the main agencies and policies affecting the lives of people living with HIV are, and what steps advocates can take to influence executive agency decision making.

Universal Health Care Factsheet (2019)

Universal health care describes a system where all people can obtain the medical care and services they need without being pushed into financial hardship. All high-income industrialized nations, with the notable exception of the United States, have some form of universal healthcare where the government ensures quality medical services for all residents, regardless of ability to pay.

Violence Against Women Living with HIV Factsheet (2015)

This factsheet, released for our 2015 National Day of Action, gives important statistics about the violence and trauma women living with HIV are particularly vulnerable to, how they contribute to worse health outcomes, and policy recommendations.