News

CHLP's Executive Director, Catherine Hanssens, presented on the creation and use of CHLP's online Resource Bank.

Regan Hofmann, POZ editor-in-chief, recently sat down with Catherine Hanssens to discuss the criminalization of HIV exposure and the recent spate of prosecutions, a snapshot of which is included in a list recently prepared by CHLP.

On August 11, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken tentatively approved a settlement that ends SSA’s policy of denying or suspending benefits based on an arrest warrant alone.

Last week, the International Center for Research for Women released a report containing analyses and recommendations from its 2009 “Sex, Rights and the Law in a World with AIDS” conference in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

A U.S. Army veteran denied a security job with a U.S. State Department contractor because he is HIV-positive has reached a settlement with the State Department that includes policy changes preventing people living with HIV from being automatically barred from working under State Department contracts in the future.

On August 21, 2009, a coalition of advocates representing women living with HIV called on the Senate and House of Representatives to address the urgent need for health care reform that specifically addresses the needs of all women affected by HIV/AIDS.

On July 16, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an announcement and fact sheet unambiguously stating that exclusion of people with HIV/AIDS from occupational training and trades that require state licensing violates federal antidiscrimination law.

This week, the Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP), along with thirteen organizations working to advance the health and rights of women living with HIV in the United States, sent a series of policy directives to the Office of National AIDS Policy and related federal agencies.

The Center for HIV Law & Policy has been working with a coalition of legal and public health advocates to overturn the prison sentence of Q.L.T., a woman whose sentence was extended because of the fact that she is HIV-positive and pregnant. We are happy to report that thanks to the efforts of Ms. T’s attorney, Zachary Heiden of the Maine ACLU, and the amicus brief CHLP helped to draft and coordinate, Judge Woodcock released Ms. T on bail on Monday, June 14, 2009, pending her appeal before the First Circuit.

The Center for HIV Law & Policy is conducting a brief survey to identify the legal services needs of people living with HIV in the South.