Abolition for Our People: Cultivating Positive Justice - Ending HIV criminalization through principled coalition-based advocacy

Through the work of CHLP’s Positive Justice Project, advocates across the country are growing a movement to transform harmful laws and shift public narratives away from blame and punishment and toward care, community accountability, and collective well-being.

This second installment in our Abolition for Our People webinar series explores how abolitionist principles are taking root in the fight to end the criminalization of people living with HIV and other stigmatized health conditions. From the groundwork set in Abolition 101, this conversation connects theory to practice, examining what it means to challenge systems of policing, punishment, and surveillance through the lens of HIV justice and advocacy.

Panelists trace the intersections of HIV criminalization and abolition, share lessons from coalition spaces that are applying these principles in real time, and reflect on what it means to center abolitionist values in decriminalization advocacy.

Presenters:

• Cole McAfee, Executive Director, Freedom Oklahoma
• Naiymah A. Sanchez, Senior Organizer
• Maxx Boykin, Movement Director, Black South Rising
• Jada Hicks, Senior PJP Attorney, CHLP
• Sean McCormick, Staff Attorney, CHLP
• Kytara Epps, Public Health and Advocacy Strategist, CHLP

Together, we’ll cultivate a deeper understanding of how abolition offers not only a critique of the current system but a pathway toward a future where health, justice, and dignity are not dependent on carceral systems. Featuring leading abolitionist organizers and legal advocates, this conversation offers both grounding and practical guidance for anyone committed to dismantling HIV criminalization and advancing collective liberation.

Watch the recording:

Save the Date: January 29, 2026
Assessing the Landscape: Authoritarianism and the fight for public health justice
This third installment in our Abolition for Our People webinar series will dig into the intersections of public health, data privacy, and state violence. Together, we’ll examine the recent history of attacks on public health, data privacy, and bodily autonomy within broader public health practices and actions led by the Trump administration. We’ll analyze how policing and data collection from vulnerable populations share the same logic, and work together to envision building a liberated public health system that upholds fundamental rights and is rooted in care, accountability, and human dignity.