HIV is NOT a Crime

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February 28 is HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day, which was first observed in 2022 by the Sero Project in collaboration with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. This awareness day is an opportunity to amplify the voices of those who have been criminalized based on their HIV status.

 

Living with HIV is not a crime, but in more than 30 U.S. states, people are being imprisoned due to their HIV status. HIV criminalization laws consist of using a person’s positive HIV status in a criminal prosecution, increasing charges or punishments because the person has HIV.

Theme:

You care about ending HIV criminalization. You just don’t know it yet.

 

If someone is UNDECTECTABLE they are also UNTRANSMITABLE  U=U!

This science has been verified without fault.  Yet, people have been put into prison just for being HIV+ and having sex.

The following video by the CENTER for HIV LAW & PRIVACY can hopefully give you a better understanding as to why this is an important HIV Awareness Day:  WATCH VIDEO NOW 

 

     

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) and The Sero Project have partnered together to announce that February 28th is the first official HIV IS NOT A CRIME Awareness Day.

The date is significant as it ties a symbolic bow to the closing of National Black History Month and the beginning of National Women’s History Month – two demographics that are disproportionately impacted by both the HIV epidemic & HIV criminalization. This date is also a symbolic nod to the legacy of ETAF Founder, Elizabeth Taylor following the day of what would be her 90th birthday. Elizabeth had a tireless commitment to bring awareness and to fight the stigma of HIV/AIDS globally. So, this February 28th, the Sero Project and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation are proud to declare in unity that HIV IS NOT A Crime.

Thanks to scientific advancements, HIV is no longer a death sentence. And with the right medications, the risk of transmitting HIV from one person to another is nearly zero. Despite this therapeutic progress, people living with HIV in more than 30 states are being charged and branded as criminals because of their status, even when there is no risk of HIV transmission.

According to the CDC, these laws discourage HIV testing, increase stigma, and exacerbate disparities, noting they are outdated and do not reflect the significant advances to treat and prevent HIV transmission, such as effective therapeutics that can suppress the virus to the point of it being virtually undetectable, and therefore untransmittable (U=U). After over 30 years of HIV research and significant biomedical and pharmaceutical advancements to treat and prevent HIV transmission, many state laws are now outdated and do not reflect our current understanding of HIV.

Please take a stand with us today – add your name to our petition and receive news about HIV Is Not A Crime from The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation: (CLICK HERE)

With support from Gilead Sciences, Inc and the collaboration of the Health Not Prisons Collective, ETAF has made the HIV IS NOT A CRIME campaign its priority advocacy initiative within the organization.