Joint PACHA and CHAC Guiding Principles for Safe and Voluntary Disclosure of HIV Status, HIV Disclosure Summit (2012)

The 2010 White House National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) established a new vision for our response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States (US)—a response that turns the US into a place where new HIV infections are rare and every person living with HIV has “unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.” To achieve this vision, the NHAS sets out a number of action steps for federal agencies, including two existing federal advisory bodies: the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Advisory Committee on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and STD Prevention and Treatment (CHAC).

To implement the goal of reducing HIV-related health disparities by, in part, reducing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV, PACHA AND CHAC were tasked with soliciting input and developing “recommendations for ways to promote and normalize safe and voluntary disclosure of HIV status in various contexts and circumstances.” HRSA was tasked with publishing the recommendations.

This document sets out the somewhat remarkable consensus reached by a diverse group of medical professionals, advocates, HIV-identified community representatives, government officials, researchers, HIV policy and service organization leaders, educators, medical ethicists and others on guiding principles for discussion and disclosure of HIV and STIs.