Leading HIV organizations in the U.S. sent a letter to President Obama today about the speech he will deliver on World AIDS Day, December 1st.

by Lauren Tetenbaum, JD/LMSW, Teen SENSE Consultant

In August of this year, the New York City government announced a mandate in which schools are required to teach a semester of comprehensive ("abstinence-plus") sexual health education in 6th or 7th grade and again in 9th or 10th grade.
 

The Positive Justice Project will host a panel on HIV criminalization entitled, "When Sex is a Crime and Spit a Dangerous Weapon: Defending Against HIV Criminal Laws" during the upcoming United States Conference on AIDS in Chicago.

On Thursday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) sent a letter to President Obama calling for a renewed effort to reduce HIV transmission and expand access to care.

by Jodi Jacobson, Editor-in-Chief, RH Reality Check
Originally published at RH Reality Check

An article in yesterday's New York Times by Pam Belluck suggesting that injectable contraceptive use might double the risk of HIV transmission among women and their partners sent a wave of anxiety through the global public health community.

Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance, a non-profit organization whose mission is to affirm sexual  freedom as a fundamental human right, released The State of Sexual Freedom in the United States, 2011 Report a few days ago.

by Beirne Roose-Snyder, CHLP Staff Attorney

Last Friday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced H.R. 3053, the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act, which calls for review of all federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding the criminal prosecution of individuals for HIV-related offenses. Why is federal legislation an important piece of the decriminalization puzzle when most criminal law is made at the state level?

New York, September 23, 2011 – Members of the Positive Justice Project, a national coalition dedicated to ending the targeting of people with HIV for unreasonable criminal prosecution, voiced their support for the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act that Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced today.

On Friday September 23rd, as part of the 41st Annual Legislative Conference, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) will hold a panel discussion on "HIV Criminalization- Why It Should Matter to You".

by René Bennett-Carlson, Managing Attorney

CHLP's René Bennett-Carlson discusses our exciting new partnership with the Hetrick Martin Institute (HMI).
 

CHLP welcomes new volunteer attorneys, Jeffrey Sallot and Eva LaManna.

Two pieces of good news this week related to CHLP's hard work fighting HIV criminalization. PACHA's first annual letters to President Obama and to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on NHAS priorities now include vital language regarding HIV criminalization, and U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee released a draft of legislation planned for introduction later this year that would require a review of all federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding the criminal prosecution of individuals for HIV-related offenses. Read more in the Michigan Messenger.

By Hannah Slater, CHLP Intern and Heather Heldman, CHLP Program Associate

Recognizing that people are sexual, regardless of disability, is crucial to ensuring equal access to comprehensive sexual health care.

New York, NY: The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) has released two new resources to support lawyers and advocates working on HIV legal policy.
 

On June 8, 2011, Lambda Legal, on behalf of a coalition including CHLP, submitted a letter in support of civil rights complaints filed by the National Immigrant Justice Center to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Center for HIV Law and Policy congratulates Advisory Board Member Hadiyah Charles for being named one of the White House Champions of Change this week.

On May 24, 2011, the Center for HIV Law and Policy and the Positive Justice Project joined the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance in a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requesting clear statements from the CDC on HIV criminalization laws and policies.

By Kathie Hiers, CEO of AIDS Alabama and the President of the National AIDS Housing Coalition

This week the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) finally unveiled its recommendations for the use of Ryan White funding for housing. While the ability to use Ryan White funds for housing is welcome, for it to be meaningful one thing becomes painfully clear: we need more federal dollars to be invested in Ryan White.

David W. Webber, editor of AIDS and the Law, has produced two new documents to help practitioners and advocates understand and apply the amendments to the ADA and recently released regulations.

The Positive Justice Project, CHLP's coalition of legal and public health experts that represent people living with HIV, is speaking out against sensationalist media coverage of criminal charges that have been brought against an HIV-positive African American man in Buffalo.