Comprehensive reviews of the newly-released National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) are still to come, although certain themes have emerged in the first reactions of national AIDS organizations. We consider what the NHAS has to say on several issues: criminalization of HIV, stepped-up enforcement of existing civil rights laws, expanded access to legal services to help with enforcement, and prisoners' rights. Not only are these issues a central part of fighting HIV in the US, at least one has the added benefit of costing little or nothing to address.
 

On July 13, 2010, the Obama administration revealed its proposed strategy for dealing with the HIV treatment and prevention needs of people affected by the epidemic in the United States. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy is the culmination of work and advocacy by people living with HIV, their advocates, AIDS service organizations, federal and state agency representatives, and corporate representatives, such as pharmaceutical companies,with a stake in the plan. Please check our Blog for our thoughts on the NHAS. And read the Strategy and related administration documents here: National HIV/AIDS Strategy, National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Plan, and the Presidential Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Agencies and Departments.

The Women's Advocacy Resource Connection Electronic Forum (WARC E-Forum) on women's experiences with HIV launched today, July 12. The WARC E-Forum provides a unique place to report and collect the shared experiences of women and their advocates with HIV-related discrimination in the U.S. and to address the gaps in civil and human rights protections for women living with HIV. The information gathered through the WARC E-Forum will be available to help shape implementation plans for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to help make sure that it concretely addresses the needs and rights of HIV positive women. To join the forum click here.

By Julie Turkewitz
Staff Writer, Housing Works

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's decision to use a state law allowing civil commitment of dangerous sex-offenders to keep Nushawn Williams in prison  — despite Williams' having served his full 12-year-term — has set off alarm bells for AIDS advocates and civil rights experts.

On June 2, 2010 a Macomb County, Michigan Circuit Court judge dismissed an October, 2009 charge brought under the state's anti-bioterrorism law against an HIV-positive man,  Allen, who was involved in an altercation with a neighbor. The court did agree with a previous Michigan Court of Appeals decision, People v. Odom, supported by information on the CDC website, that HIV-infected blood is a "harmful biological substance" as defined under the bioterrorism law because it is implicated in the transmission of HIV. An assault charge against Allen  is still pending. 

In response to the White House Office of National AIDS Policy's first report on community discussions that will inform development of a National HIV/AIDS strategy, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, Lambda Legal and the ACLU AIDS Project submitted addtional recommendations on issues that merit more attention, including strategies to end state-supported stigma and discrimination with respect to criminal prosecutions of people living with HIV and the inhumane treatment of correctional facility inmates who have HIV.

On May 10th, 2010 the Center for HIV Law and Policy and several Teen SENSE coalition partners submitted comments on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) proposed standards for the elimination of sexual assault in state and federal correctional facilities across the country. These comments emphasize that the standards should proactively address the connection between comprehensive sexual health care for youth in state custody in the areas of medical screening and care, youth education programs, and staff training, and the elimination of sexual abuse against these youth.

by Joseph Sonnabend, M.D.

One of the first physicians on the front lines of AIDS clinical care comments on the meaning and importance of informed consent in the push for earlier use of antiretroviral therapies, and laments the absence of activists who fought to safeguard it.

The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) has released a updated version of Housing Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS: A Primer to include a section on the application of how an advocate can use international human rights law to support a person with HIV's right to safe, stable, and affordable housing.

By Cynthia Knox
Deputy Director, HIV Law Project

When even an HIV-savvy person treats a partner's undisclosed HIV as grounds for a lawsuit, sex can be exceptionally risky for those living with HIV.

by Margo Kaplan
CHLP Director of Planning and Research

What distinguishes parents—and in particular women—living with HIV from other parents managing chronic medical conditions is not their illness, but rather an environment of stigma and discrimination that can compromise both their legal rights and their medical care.

On December 1, 2009, World AIDS Day, the Center for HIV Law and Policy is releasing a groundbreaking report and guide on the medical and legal issues surrounding HIV and pregnancy in the United States. The guide, HIV and Pregnancy: Medical and Legal Considerations for Women and Their Advocates, makes it clear that persistent beliefs among medical, social service, and justice system professionals that women with HIV should avoid childbearing are unsupported by medical science or the law. The guide is the first of its kind, and charts the intersecting medical, ethical, and legal issues that can arise for HIV-positive women who are or may become pregnant.

CHLP is proud to announce that Jody Marksamer, Esq., is CHLP's newest issue specialist. Marksamer joins the CHLP team as an expert in issues affecting LGBTQ youth in child welfare and juvenile justice settings.

Dr. Aronow brings significant expertise in HIV and neurology and a unique perspective on patient needs and rights.

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.

by Catherine Hanssens
CHLP Executive Director

ABC may think they scored with yet another salacious tale of an AIDS monster ruining the lives of innocent women, but the true story is more complex; when it comes to public education and responsible, honest reporting, they utterly failed to make the grade.

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.

by Catherine Hanssens
CHLP Executive Director

Imagine where HIV-positive people serving time for spitting or consenual sex might be if the advocacy and funding invested in changing state HIV  laws to eliminate informed consent had instead focused on state laws that make criminals of people with HIV.