HIV is NOT a Crime

In less than one month, I will be attending the HIV is Not a Crime National Training Academy II and I cannot wait. I will be in a room with fellow HIV advocates, some of them that have been arrested and/or prosecuted for living with HIV, having to register as sex offenders and class D felons!

Why would I be excited about that? Well, let me walk you through a timeline of my knowledge of what I have learned is HIV criminalization.

Definition: HIV Criminalization is the inappropriate criminal prosecutions of people living with HIV for non-disclosure of their HIV status, potential or perceived HIV exposure or transmission.

As a member of Positive Women's Network - USA, I am on several listservs and one of them featured a thread from Tami Haught. She was requesting information from anyone living in Florida that she could sit and do a round table with to educate them on criminalization and ultimately form a task force that would begin working on repealing the outdated laws that are in existence in many states with HIV specific language based on stigma and not the science of transmission. Remembering I had met Tami at the previous Positive Women's Network Speak Up! Summit and hearing stories of how HIV disclosure laws were impacting people's lives, I knew I wanted to be involved. Wanting to help out in anyway I could, but not really having a lot of knowledge, I connected with Tami and she attended a support group I'm a part of where she did a brief but powerful presentation on the outdated laws, what has been done in other states to repeal them and what more needs to be done. I was hooked.

From there, I began to visit the website of the agency Tami was representing, The SERO Project. I thought back to the Cicely Bolden and Elisha Henson cases where their lives were taken because of their HIV disclosure (but no transmission of HIV). I wrote about them in relation to women living with HIV and exposure to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). My heart began to break (again) and I felt incredibly hopeless.

I know nothing about law, policy, or even felt comfortable going to elected officials to talk to them. I was one of those people that felt they were untouchable. I think it has something to do with them always wearing suits. Can you wear yoga pants or jeans just once to a meeting? Please?

I was left with this, "Now, what" feeling after Tami left. I followed her posts, I followed SERO and I read as much as I could understand. Then I got an email from Tami asking if I was available to come up to Tallahassee. She was forming a band. No seriously, she had called together Florida advocates and allies to brainstorm on what could be done to repeal our laws. Evidently, Florida has had 153 people convicted (as of Nov. 2015) under these laws. One of the main principles that we are working on across the board outside of educating the community and leaders is to examine the previous cases and approach the repeals to modernize Florida statutes from a public health perspective, including using the National HIV/AIDS Strategy as support.

So, the meeting has been a kick start to work behind the scenes quietly, making moves in a direction that will ultimately lead to reformed laws. It will not be an easy process and it will not happen overnight.

Which is why I am excited for the training academy coming up.

Plenary and session topics will include:
● Intersections of race, gender and sexuality in HIV criminalization
● Centering the rights of sex workers and other over­criminalized groups
● Updates and tips from active state­based campaigns against HIV criminalization
● Supporting leadership of people living with HIV in the movement to end HIV criminalization

When I saw this list, there was an open call for submitting abstracts to present at the training. Now, remember I have no extensive or deep knowledge in all of this. But I have learned to BE the change that I seek, so I submitted an abstract. My first ever! Terrifying experience by the way; however...it got accepted! And I have the most amazing co-presenter! Olivia Ford, former Communications Director of Positive Women's Network! *mind blown*

Whether my abstract had been chosen or not, I am excited to gain insights to help people living with HIV know that they can come out from the shadows, live their lives victoriously and not in fear. I am excited to be empowered by the conversations and strategies that will be shared. I am excited to take whatever I learn from those four days back to my state and implement change. I am excited that I will get to see history in the making.

If you are interested in attending, you can still register! 

Tips for Media Coverage and HIV

"AIDS is the Wrath of God..."
"AIDS strikes HIV victim"
"HIV man jailed for infecting women"

Can you tell which of these headlines is from when HIV/AIDS was first discovered vs. today? HIV/AIDS has been impacting communities since the early 80's, and while it's understandable that there was fear of the unknown causes and risks, I truly believe that the media played a huge role in perpetuating the stigma that we fight today. Yes, they did their collective job of getting people's attention so that they could be aware; however their bold, sensationalized words brought no comfort to the lives and families that were being torn apart by the unknown virus silently killing men and women.

I want to see a world where HIV stigma is gone. Where all health-related stigma is gone. I know that is incredibly idealistic but I can't help but hope it to be possible since it's our fault it exists. We make assumptions, presumptions, judgments and vilify people that are different than us or that we are somehow threatened by.

Special thanks to Vickie Lynn and Valerie Wojciechowicz, and a host of other powerful advocates that worked together and came up with a presentation that involves People-First language in addressing stigma. I believe that is the first step in changing the way media addresses the issues that are involved with HIV/AIDS. We still want them to report on the important changes; however don't group us as one band of horrible "diseased misfits" because of specific isolated events, especially when it involves criminalizing a person because they are living with HIV. There are situations where disclosure of one's status puts someone's life in danger, there has to be consideration taken into that when reporting.

Let's step away from the fear because the original fear was based on the unknown. Today, we know so much about the virus that people can be on treatment to prevent transmitting the virus to their partner and conceive children naturally. We know so much about the virus that there was recently a successful organ transplant involving patients living with HIV.

So, advocates, researchers and community agencies know this...but how much of this do our media correspondents know? The Positive Women's Network (PWN-USA) created a small list of tips for those that work in the media on how to report on HIV. This short list has a more detailed tip sheet and isn't just for media makers. This can be used throughout the community and for people living with HIV. How we identify ourselves is important. Identify with WHO you are, not what you're living with. This amazing resource will detail why phrases like "full blown AIDS","infected", and "mother to child transmission" perpetuate and anchor stigma in our communities that we are trying to educate. We as advocates can do our part, but if the media doesn't reinforce our efforts, it is all for naught.

The language we choose to use can prevent someone from being confused.

Deeply Rooted in HealtheVoices 2016

Janssen paid for my travel expenses for the conference. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

I can't tell you how I heard about the HealtheVoices conference originally. On a regular basis, I have at least fourteen tabs open in my browser, so I am sure it was during my process of Googling a keyword like "HIV Advocate", "empower", or "health conference". I have been spending the majority of the year seeking for places where my voice can be heard and shared. This year I vowed to be more intentional in my actions for advocacy, my strides to better health and and finding balance in it all.

So, when I came across the link and realized I hadn't missed the open call cut off date, I got chills. I've had the opportunity to share my thoughts with Janssen on health before and knew that if they were behind this conference, it was legit in making online health advocates voices a priority. Then when I got accepted, I was overjoyed!

So, what did I experience while attending this conference? Well, I had a mind-blowing revelation (several actually), made additions to my HIV advocacy tribe, had an instant bond with approximately 100 people, developed a new found love for Twitter, and ways to resurrect my blog life as well as my social media presence...all in one weekend! But wait...there's more! I will highlight a memory from the conference as well as share information on my fellow conference attendees throughout the remainder of the year. Look for those posts to have the heading and hashtag #DeeplyRooted.

That was the theme of this year's conference. I was asked several times what it meant to me, but I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I couldn't make the words come out right. Now, I think I can.

Deeply Rooted. In the sense of online health advocates and the role we play in the bettering of our communities as well as our own lives, it means to be connected in unmovable ways, so intertwined through our experiences that no storm can knock us over. I came to this meaning in a dream I had on night 2, literally of a palm tree in a storm. Palms are one of the strongest trees in creation and also my favorite for the very reason that when they are pushed through the winds of a storm, their roots become stronger, anchoring them to their foundation. They may bend, but they rarely break. I live in Florida and have seen several hurricanes, so I know. But that is the essence of Deeply Rooted and exactly what this conference meant for me. I saw groups of people solidified in what had to have been a lifelong bond through their health conditions. I saw individuals stand and challenge experts on the validity of a health advocates online presence without blinking an eye. I saw chronic pain sufferers smile through gripping flares of discomfort because they were getting recharged by the energy around them. I was strengthened by our collective voices and it was empowering.

A lot of us are advocating for a third year and I truly hope I get to go. I don't care where it is (maybe somewhere with palm trees?), I just want to be in the room with these amazing people one more time. There are not enough words to describe the unity in differences that I felt there. And the accommodations weren't too shabby either! Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel has the most considerate staff and amazing rooms with outstanding views!

This country girl was beside herself with the lights! And then to have dinner at the friendliest seafood place I have ever visited, Catch 35, was a great experience. I cannot wait to go back and see more of Chicago, thankful I have family there so I can make multiple trips!

So thank you again Janssen, Everyday Health and Tonic for this amazing experience! You all, rock!

Disclaimer: Janssen paid for my travel expenses for the conference. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.