Advocates Speak at the HIV is Not a Crime Conference

The HIV is Not a Crime Conference took place in Grinnell College in Iowa on June 2-5, 2014. CHLP staff, Rashida Richardson and Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, represented CHLP at the conference. As part of this convening, Richardson, the coordinator of the Positive Justice Project, a national campaign to end HIV criminalization, presented in a workshop titled, "Building the Political and Policy Campaign." Her presentation, which focused on the importance of broad coalition-building, stressed the critical need of incorporating a robust intersectional analysis as the groundwork is laid for successful lobbying and campaigns to end HIV criminalization. As Richardson explained, the movement for HIV de-criminalization is intrinsically intertwined with broad criminal justice, racial justice, economic justice and reproductive justice issues, including the overcriminalization, policing, profiling, and surveillance of communities of color, low-income people, and LGBT individuals.

In anticipation of this conference, CHLP gathered a selection of HIV criminalization resources for advocates and organizations, including This is How We Win: A Toolkit for Community Advocates, and palm cards on HIV criminalization in English and Spanish. CHLP provides free, unlimited access to substantive resources to support and increase the advocacy power and expertise of attorneys, community members, service providers, and all people living with HIV.