Webinar: Changing Outdated HIV Criminalization Laws

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How can state health departments improve legal and policy protections for people with HIV?

All people deserve to live their lives free from stigma and structural discrimination, yet HIV criminalization continues to harm people with HIV across the United States, especially in communities of color. Black and trans women experience disproportionate enforcement of HIV criminalization laws.

ChangeLab Solutions invites you to watch the recording of our one-hour webinar Changing Outdated HIV Criminalization Laws to examine how reforming HIV laws and policies can strengthen public health protections and mitigate unjust effects on people with HIV. Our speakers highlight state-level efforts to reform laws and policies that criminalize HIV, and they share information about the HIV Criminalization Legal and Policy Assessment Tool, a resource to help public health professionals, policymakers, legal counsel, and community partners assess how HIV-related laws and policies in their jurisdiction may inhibit or advance health equity.

State laws and practices should be informed by science, but most HIV criminalization laws fail to meet this standard. Consequently, modernizing HIV-related laws is an essential part of the movement to end the HIV epidemic. Panelists share their experiences in working on HIV decriminalization efforts in their states and offer perspectives on the following questions:

• Why is it important to consider HIV-related laws and policies when we talk about promoting health equity?
• How has HIV criminalization affected some of the inequities we see today?
• How can states assess HIV-related laws and policies in their jurisdictions — including HIV criminalization laws — based on their potential to inhibit or advance health equity?
• What steps can states take to address HIV criminalization in their jurisdictions?

Speakers

• Heather Anderson-Fintak, general counsel, Southern Nevada Health District
• Jami Crespo, senior attorney, ChangeLab Solutions
• Wesley Hartman, attorney, ChangeLab Solutions
• Katie Macomber, director, Bureau of HIV and STI Programs, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
• Iyanrick John, vice president of external affairs, ChangeLab Solutions (moderator)

Recording