International AIDS Conference Posters, CHLP et al., 2026

CHLP attorneys Jada Hicks and Sean McCormick will present two posters at AIDS 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Wednesday and Thursday, July 29 and 30, 2026. The posters highlight research on HIV criminalization in the US in the track focused on political science, laws, ethics, policies, and human rights. The event brings together thousands of HIV professionals at the world's largest conference on HIV and AIDS.

It Takes All of Us: Decriminalizing HIV in the United States and what it means for other countries
Track F3: Human rights and responses to HIV

This poster will be presented by CHLP’s Sean McCormick and Jada Hicks on Wednesday, July 29, from 12-1pm BRT.

Authors: Sean McCormick and Jada Hicks, CHLP; Ariel Luna, Equality Federation; and Ronnie Taylor, FreeState Justice.

This poster highlights the growing momentum behind HIV decriminalization in the United States, showing how nearly 20 states have reformed or repealed HIV criminalization laws over the past decade. It explains that HIV criminalization undermines the health and well-being of people living with HIV—particularly Black, brown, LGBTQ+, women, and working-class communities—and argues that successful reform efforts have demonstrated that these laws can be changed even in challenging political environments.

The poster emphasizes that lasting reform requires more than legislative advocacy alone. Successful campaigns have combined narrative change, coalition building, and legislative strategy, bringing together people with lived experience, advocates, healthcare professionals, researchers, and attorneys to educate communities, support those impacted by criminalization, and build political will. The research suggests these efforts not only reduce criminal legal involvement but also improve engagement in HIV prevention and care, making HIV decriminalization both a public health strategy and a model for countries around the world seeking to modernize their HIV laws.

https://programme.aids2026.org/Abstract/Abstract/?abstractid=10813

Exposing Inequity: Assessing the scope and enforcement of HIV criminalization on women and Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ people in the 🇺🇸
Track F1: Political and legal factors affecting people living with, vulnerable to, and affected by HIV.

This poster will be presented by CHLP’s Sean McCormick and Jada Hicks on Thursday, July 30, from 12-1pm BRT.

Authors: Sean McCormick and Jada Hicks, CHLP; Robert Suttle, Robert Suttle Consulting; Nathan Cisneros, Williams Institute at UCLA Law.

This poster presents new research showing that HIV criminalization remains widespread across the United States and continues to disproportionately harm people who are already marginalized, especially Black people, women, and LGBTQ+ communities. Drawing on a nationwide analysis of HIV criminal laws and enforcement data from 16 states, the study finds that 40 states still have HIV-specific criminal offenses or sentence enhancements, enforcement remains ongoing, and many laws punish people living with HIV even when there is no intent to transmit HIV or no possibility of transmission.

The poster argues that HIV criminalization is both a public health and racial justice issue. Enforcement data reveal that Black people, women—particularly Black women—and other marginalized communities are disproportionately arrested, prosecuted, and convicted under these laws, reflecting broader inequities in healthcare, housing, and economic opportunity. The authors conclude that meaningful reform requires centering the leadership and lived experience of people most impacted by HIV and criminalization, and suggest that lessons from the United States can help inform global efforts to end HIV criminalization.

https://programme.aids2026.org/Abstract/Abstract/?abstractid=10220