National HIV/AIDS Strategy Imperative: Fighting Stigma and Discrimination by Repealing HIV-Specific Criminal Statutes, National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (2011)

The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), an organization that represents public health officials and administers state and territorial HIV/AIDS programs, has released a statement supporting efforts to end HIV-specific criminal laws and polices that perpetuate stigma and discrimination against HIV positive persons.

In its statement, NASTAD "support[s] level-headed, proven public health approaches that end punitive laws that single out HIV over other STDs and that impose penalties for alleged nondisclosure, exposure and transmiss- ion that are severely disproportionate to any actual resulting harm."

As a member of the Positive Justice Project, an initiative of the Center for HIV Law and Policy, NASTAD members have committed to examining existing public health policies related to HIV criminalization while em- phasizing the importance of providing comprehensive prevention and care services for HIV positive individuals.

The NASTAD statement, one of the first of its kind released by a national AIDS policy or service organization, provides an excellent model for other HIV organizations and advocates.