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 will explore 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 will connect theory to practice, examining what it means to challenge systems of policing, punishment, and surveillance through the lens of HIV justice and advocacy.

Panelists will 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.

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.