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Center for HIV Law and Policy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) is a national legal and policy resource and strategy center in the United States working to reduce the impact of HIV on vulnerable and marginalized communities and to secure the human rights of people affected by HIV.[1] CHLP's founder and executive director is Catherine Hanssens.[2]

Work

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CHLP is the organizational home of the Positive Justice Project (PJP), a national coalition of organizations and individuals in the United States working to end HIV criminalization.[3][4][5][6] PJP released the first national statement against HIV criminalization,[7] and this statement has been endorsed by organizations and individuals across the country. Over the last few years, there has been a growing movement to end the use of criminal laws that target persons with HIV,[8] and even the United States federal government is taking a closer look at this issue.[9][10][11]

Another CHLP initiative, Teen SENSE, works to secure the right of youth in state custody to comprehensive, LGBTQ-inclusive sexual health care and sexual health literacy programs.[12]

CHLP is known for its HIV Policy Resource Bank,[13] a free, public, online collection of research, reports and other HIV-related materials. The HIV Policy Resource Bank also includes publications from the Center for HIV Law and Policy, such as "When Sex is a Crime and Spit is a Dangerous Weapon", mapping HIV criminalization in the United States.[14]

In May 2014, the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School published a report co-authored by the Center for HIV Law and Policy, the Center for American Progress and Streetwise & Safe called "Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People Living with HIV."[15][16]

THE REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act

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The REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act was the abbreviated name of the 'Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal HIV Discrimination Act' (H.R. 3053), also called the REPEAL Act, proposed legislation that was introduced in the U.S. Congress on September 23, 2011, by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA).[17] It called for review of all federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding the criminal prosecution of individuals for HIV-related offenses. It was the first piece of federal legislation to address HIV criminalization and provided incentives for states to reconsider laws and practices that target people with HIV for consensual sexual activity and conduct that poses no risk of HIV transmission.[18] The bill had 41 cosponsors and was referred in September/October 2011 to three subcommittees, where it died.[17]

Barbara Lee re-introduced the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act 2013 as H.R. 1843 in May 2013 with 42 cosponsors, and it again died in three subcommittees.[19] Senator Chris Coons introduced the legislation as S.1790 on December 10, 2013, and it did not make it out of the Judiciary Committee.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Center for HIV Law and Policy, About http://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/about
  2. ^ "Catherine Hanssens, Esq". TheBody.com. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  3. ^ The POZ 100 (December 2011)
  4. ^ "Mojo - June 2012". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  5. ^ The Body http://www.thebody.com/content/73689/the-center-for-hiv-law-and-policy.html
  6. ^ Wendy Armstrong, Time to Change HIV Criminalization Laws, The Atlanta Journal Constitution (June 19, 2014) http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/time-to-change-hiv-criminalization-laws/ngPCg/
  7. ^ "Positive Justice Project Consensus Statement on the Criminalization of HIV in the United States, Positive Justice Project/Center for HIV Law and Policy | The Center for HIV Law and Policy". Hivlawandpolicy.org. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  8. ^ Los Angeles Times Editorial, Get Rid of Those Outdated HIV Laws (June 6, 2013) https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-xpm-2013-jun-06-la-ed-hiv-state-laws-review-20130606-story.html
  9. ^ Justice Department Releases Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-Specific Criminal Laws to Align with Scientifically-Supported Factors, U.S. Department of Justice http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/July/14-crt-739.html
  10. ^ Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-Specific Criminal Laws to Align with Scientifically-Supported Factors, U.S. Department of Justice http://aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/doj-hiv-criminal-law-best-practices-guide.pdf Archived 2014-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Lehman, JS; Carr, MH; Nichol, AJ; Ruisanchez, A; Knight, DW; Langford, AE; Gray, SC; Mermin, JH (2014-03-15). "Prevalence and Public Health Implications of State Laws that Criminalize Potential HIV Exposure in the United States". AIDS Behav. 18 (6): 997–1006. doi:10.1007/s10461-014-0724-0. PMC 4019819. PMID 24633716.
  12. ^ "Teen SENSE | The Center for HIV Law and Policy". Hivlawandpolicy.org. 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  13. ^ "HIV Policy Resource Bank | The Center for HIV Law and Policy". Hivlawandpolicy.org. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  14. ^ "When Sex is A Crime and Spit is a Dangerous Weapon: A Snapshot of HIV Criminalization in the United States, The Center for HIV Law and Policy | The Center for HIV Law and Policy". Hivlawandpolicy.org. Archived from the original on 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  15. ^ "A Roadmap for Change | Center for Gender & Sexuality Law | Columbia Law School". Web.law.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  16. ^ "RELEASE: New Report Recommends Federal Action to Address Pervasive Profiling, Punishment, and Imprisonment of LGBT People and People Living with HIV | Center for American Progress". Americanprogress.org. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  17. ^ a b H.R.3053 - REPEAL Act, retrieved December 6, 2012
  18. ^ "Why Federal Legislation Matters: The REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act, 26 September 2011". Center for HIV Law and Policy. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  19. ^ Lee, Barbara (2013-05-07). "H.R.1843 - REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2013". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  20. ^ Roberts, Dan (December 10, 2013). "New bill seeks to repeal outdated state HIV discrimination laws". The Guardian. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
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