The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) and the National LGBTQ Task Force released a new resource that can help foster more intersectional advocacy for HIV criminal law reform. HIV Criminalization Beyond Non-Disclosure: Advocacy Toolkits on Intersections with Sex Work and Syringe Use is the sum of two toolkits designed for advocates who care about ending the disproportionate criminalization of people living with HIV. The toolkits:
- Highlight the intersections between advocacy for HIV criminal law reform, decriminalization of sex work, and safe syringe access. These different advocacy communities share many common goals and constituencies, yet do not generally work in close collaboration or collectively strategize.
- Underscore the ways in which certain HIV criminal laws specifically target sex workers and people who inject substances, but also how these laws and those that prohibit sex work and drug use represent the systemic criminalization of safety and survival of Black and Brown bodies and of sexual and gender minorities.
- Discuss the many ways in which these issues are connected and outline concrete steps advocates can take to strengthen their intersectional advocacy. They were developed in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders and organizations.
View the toolkits on both CHLP’s website and the Task Force’s website.
