Comment on the 2026-2030 National HIV/AIDS Strategy, CHLP (2024)

In response to the recent Request for Information for a new National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), CHLP submitted responses that emphasized the importance of recognizing the scope and impact of HIV criminalization and other nonconsensual or punitive policy and legal approaches. 

While the prior NHAS acknowledged that HIV criminalization laws "should be repealed or updated," CHLP called for the inclusion of specific metrics for achieving this aim and additional research into the harmful consequences of these laws. In recognizing that these impacts are concentrated on Black people, Latine people, women, LGBTQ+ people, people who use drugs, people who engage in sex work, and other communities made vulnerable to HIV, the comment urged decision-makers to position HIV criminalization as a racial, gender, disability, and LGBTQ+ justice issue and proactively monitor disparities in HIV criminal law enforcement. 

CHLP also encouraged NHAS to incorporate and build upon the success of recent litigation leveraging the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act to challenge HIV criminalization as discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV). Additionally, the comment called for an interdisciplinary group of federal, state, local, and tribal stakeholders to assist health departments with improving the informed consent process for data collection; safeguarding health data from PLHIV; and preventing data from being used in criminal, civil, or immigration proceedings. 

Lastly, the submission urged the implementation of policy and legal approaches that reduce disparities in transmissions, diagnoses, and care by centering the dignity and autonomy of PLHIV. These strategies must address the social determinants of health, including discrimination based on race, sex, or sexual orientation; housing instability; inadequate transportation; lack of employment opportunities; and food insecurity.