End The Use of Condoms As Evidence (2013)

Queens Pride House and the Popular Resistance & Non-Violent Action (PRANA) Project will host a workshop on police confiscation and criminalization of condoms on August 13, 2013 at 6 PM. In NYC, police are using condom possession as grounds for arrest, and as evidence of wrongdoing, including prostitution. As part of this workshop, CHLP's Legal Director, Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, will discuss how this practice undermines HIV advocacy efforts and public health campaigns, and results in the overcriminalization of women of color, immigrants, and transgender individuals. Condom criminalization can have devastating collateral consequences, including barriers to housing, employment, and voting. Often, following arrest, HIV status is used improperly as an aggravating factor in criminal charges, which in turn can trigger serious immigration consequences, including deportation. This empowerment training will be conducted in English and Spanish.