News

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News, information, and commentary by The Center for HIV Law and Policy.

11/12/2020 8:48am

CHLP Brief Calls out Homophobic Bias in Case of Gay Man Unjustly Designated a “Sexually Violent Predator”

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CHLP filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of Virginia in support of Galen Baughman, a young gay man at risk of indefinite civil confinement due to an unjust designation as a “sexually violent predator”. The brief describes the deep homophobic bias embedded in the civil commitment assessment process and in the drive to confine him in the absence of credible evidence.

10/30/2020 10:00am

Let's Act! New SHYAC Video for Youth Justice Action Month Aims to Broaden Advocacy (2020)

Help SHYAC expand the advocacy spheres of comprehensive sex education campaigns, juvenile justice reform, and LGBTQ rights to include sexual health literacy and sexual/reproductive care access for youth in state custody and out-of-home care.

10/27/2020 4:44pm

Decriminalizing HIV: An ACT UP NY Webinar

CHLP's Amir Sadeghi joins this ACT UP NY webinar on Thursday, October 29th at 6pm ET to unpack the criminalization of people living with HIV, and provide a national-legal overview of reforms to disease-specific criminal law.

10/8/2020 2:48pm

CHLP Joins Brief Seeking Release of Transgender Prisoner Due to COVID-19 Risks

In late September, CHLP joined several civil rights groups on an amicus brief in support of a petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking the release of a 63-year-old transgender woman from Eastern Correctional Facility, a men’s prison in Ulster County, New York, due to the risk that COVID-19 poses to her health. The woman, Cathy Citro has multiple chronic health conditions, including diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure, that make her uniquely vulnerable to suffering severe illness if she were to be infected with COVID-19.

10/6/2020 11:28am

CHLP Testifies before New York State Senate on the Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons and Jails (2020)

CHLP submitted testimony regarding the importance of taking a public health rather than criminal law enforcement approach to COVID-19, as well as the need to address failures in the state’s response to COVID-19 in prisons, jails, psychiatric hospitals, and other settings of confinement.