News

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.

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 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. 

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.

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.

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.