PWN-USA & Members in Media and Research Literature

News at the U (University of Miami): HIV Researchers, Advocates Take Their Fight to the Streets (featuring quotes and photos from members Gena Grant and Alecia Tramel)

SEPTEMBER 2020

News at the U (University of Miami): Researchers Aim to End Miami’s HIV Epidemic (mentions PWN members Gena Grant and Alecia Tramel)

POZ.com: Speaking With a Collective Voice

POZ.com: U=U Poem: “Just the Way I Feel” (poem by PWN member Stacy Jennings)

Vice: How to Fight Serophobia (editorial featuring Tiommi Luckett)

AUGUST 2020

Washington Blade: Want to End HIV? Actions Speak Louder than Sound Bites (op-ed by Naina Khanna, Cecilia Chung, Ronald Johnson, and Sean Strub)

Parade Magazine: It’s Time to Drop the Stigma! What Women Need to Know About HIV in 2020 (features NC State Lead Alicia Diggs)

POZ.com: Coping at Home (featuring Venita Ray)

Jezebel: PrEP Should Be Fucking Free and Universally Accessible, Yet Another Study Suggests (cites PWN’s policy agenda)

POZ.com: Still Here

POZ.com: HIV Leadership Informs People Living with HIV About the Impact of COVID-19 (about the FAQ document PWN collaborated on)

Bronx Times: Gibson and Destination Tomorrow Host Vigil for Transgender Woman Tiffany Harris (quotes from board member Octavia Lewis)

JULY 2020

Targeted News Service: Reps Speier, DeGette, Dingell Introduce Legislation to Protect Privacy in Contact Tracing Technology

Broadwayworld.com: Zoom Events Explores How To Honor And Take Care Of Our HIV+ Elders And Long Term Survivors

JUNE 2020

POZ.com: Questioning the Benefits of Molecular Surveillance

POZ.com: Chunnika L. Hodges: “What Does U=U Mean to You? Astounding!”

Grand Valley Free Press: Veteran Activist Has Only Just Begun to Fight (profile of Shannon Robinson)

Grand Valley Free Press: Hundreds Attend March and Teach-In on Racial Justice in Grand Junction (featuring Shannon Robinson)

POZ.com: COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter on HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day

Human Rights Campaign: Surviving HIV in the Age of COVID-19 (profile of board member Octavia Lewis)

MAY 2020

POZ.com: “HIV Is Not A Crime IV” Training Academy Postponed Till 2021

APRIL 2020

HIVPlusMag.com: Editor’s Letter: On New Beginnings, a Few Goodbyes, and Many Thanks

POZ.com: RIP Deloris Dockrey, HIV Activist and Leader Lost to COVID-19

Forbes: Gender Justice Funders Lead The Way In Providing Flexible Funding

TheBody.com: Walking the Dog and Support Networks Help This Bronx Activist Cope with COVID-19 Quarantine

Colorlines: HIV Testing for the Trans Community Must Remain a Top Priority

Out Take: COVID-19 Impacting People With HIV

Windy City Media Group: HIV Leadership Gets Focused COVID-19 News to People Living with HIV

POZ.com: U=U Inspiring Motherhood

MARCH 2020

HIVPlusMag.com: Before the ACA, I Had to Choose Between Taking My Meds and Eating (op-ed by member Olga Irwin)

HIVPlusMag.com: The Affordable Care Act Saved My Life (op-ed by member Thamicha Isaac)

HIVPlusMag.com: On ACA’s 10th Anniversary, It’s More Important Than Ever to Protect It (op-ed by communications director Jennie Smith-Camejo)

Hello Beautiful: What Black Women Living with HIV Want You to Know (quotes from PWN members Connie Johnson, Kamaria Laffrey, Davina Conner, Alicia Diggs, and Deputy Director Venita Ray)

FEBRUARY 2020

POZ.com: Vote Positive

POZ.com: Still a Babe (profile of Board Co-Chair Pat Migliore)

TheBodyPro.com: Want to Hire More Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Folks at Your Agency? These Staffers Have Some Blunt Advice (featuring Board Vice-Chair Bre Rivera)

JANUARY 2020

TheBody.com: Can Michael Bennet End the HIV Epidemic? (op-ed by Barb Cardell)

TheBody.com: This St. Louis-Based Activist Uses Her Own Story to Make HIV Have “Meaning Behind the Numbers” (profile of Kneeshe Parkinson)

DECEMBER 2019

HIVPlusMag.com: Millions of Americans Are at Risk of Losing Health Care, Yet Again (op-ed by PWN)

Cosmopolitan: 8 Women Get Real About What It’s Like to Live With HIV (featuring communications and training assistant Tiommi Luckett)

Vice: The Free PrEP Program Is Here

NOVEMBER 2019

Pride Source: Positive Thoughts: Trans Power

The Colorado Sun: HIV-Prevention Funding Is Being Slashed in Colorado, Even as a Growing Number of People Are Diagnosed

POZ.com: The POZ 100 Celebrating Transgender, Gender-Nonconforming and Nonbinary Advocates

SEPTEMBER 2019

POZ.com: A Plan to Engage People Living With HIV in Election 2020

Channel Q Radio: How People with HIV Could Be Impacted By JVN’s Big Reveal (interview with Venita Ray)

Rewire: Trans Women of Color Are Shaping the Future of HIV Advocacy

Vice: What a New Famous Face Could Mean for People Living with HIV (featuring Naina Khanna)

Tampa Bay Times: HIV in Florida Is on the Rise. Here’s How We Can Change That (op-ed by Jennie Smith-Camejo, Kamaria Laffrey, Christine Hanavan, and Alejandro Acosta)

POZ.com: Recapping 2019’s U.S. Conference on AIDS in 12 Tweets and 1 Video

HIVPlusMag.com: BREAKING: 2020 Presidential Candidates Tell Us Their Plans to End HIV

TheBody.com: To ‘End the HIV Epidemic,’ Activists Demand That Officials Involve Community in Planning

HIVPlusMag.com: Watch Activists Storm The Stage at USCA, Protesting Neglect From CDC

Medscape: Dirty Work to End the HIV Epidemic

AUGUST 2019

filmthreat.com: America in Transition Season 1 (featuring Tiommi Luckett)

JULY 2019

AL.com: The HIV epidemic continues to devastate Alabama. We need the ACA (op-ed by Alabama State Lead Katie Willingham)

The Advocate: Meet the Poz, Black Feminist Helping to Change the World (profile of Board member Tranisha Arzah)

MsMagazine.com: The Blueprint for Global Reproductive Justice

JUNE 2019

Healthline: Why Many HIV-Positive Women Choose Basic Survival Over Treatment

MAY 2019

Philadelphia Gay News: Education Conference to Inform Public on HIV, AIDS

Windy City Times: Author Documents Straight Women on Front Lines of AIDS Crisis

EDGE San Francisco – EDGE Media Network: AIDSWatch: An Advocate’s Story

APRIL 2019

TheBody.com: 8 Advocates Share Their Top HIV Policy Issues at AIDSWatch 2019

TheBody.com: A Seat at the Table: Transgender Advocates Represent at AIDSWatch

POZ: POZ at 25: On the Cover

POZ: AIDSWatch 2019 Kicks Off With Address From CDC Director Robert Redfield

NY Daily News: Trump’s HIV/AIDS Council Includes an Exec from the Company Accused of Price-Gouging HIV Drug — but It’s Lacking Voices from Vulnerable Communities

MARCH 2019

Newslive.com: First Kidney Donor With HIV Leads Way for More Transplants

PR.com: Living Full Out Radio Show: Using Past Experiences to Educate Others

TheBody.com: HIV Rapid Testing & Treatment Must Be a Priority at Fulton County Jail

Los Angeles BLADE: Trans Lives of Color Explored in New Documentary Series

POZ: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2019

TheBody.com: New Study Triggers Concerns Over Use of Molecular HIV Surveillance

FEBRUARY 2019

POZ: Understanding Undetectable = Untransmittable

POZ: Viral Load Does Not Equal Value

TheBody.com: Positive Women’s Network Launches Online Advocacy Tool for People Living With HIV

POZ: Look Who’s Organizing to End Black HIV Now [VIDEO]

Windy City Times: New Network of Black HIV Policy Advocates Tackle HIV in Black Communities in the South

TheBody.com: ‘We Will Defeat AIDS in America’: What’s Behind Trump’s State of the Union Announcement

Treatment Action Group: Statement on President Trump’s State of the Union Remarks on Ending the U.S. HIV Epidemic by 2030 from the Act Now: End AIDS Coalition

JANUARY 2019

POZ: How to Succeed at HIV Advocacy in Five Free Lessons [VIDEO]

TheBody.com: R. Kelly, Sexual Predators, and HIV in a Society Where Black Girls Don’t Matter

Windy City Times: LGBT groups sign letter calling Barr’s civil rights record disqualifying

DECEMBER 2018

TheBody.com: HIV Community Advocates React to HHS Secretary Azar’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS Announcements
TheBody.com: Meet Health Equity Hero Yolo Akili Robinson

NOVEMBER 2018

TheBody.com: Reflections on World AIDS Day 2018: In Despair and Love, Where Are Our Political Homes?
Rewire: With Black Women at High Risk for HIV, Why Are So Few Taking the Prevention Pill?
The 21st (A production of Illinois Public Media): Drinking Water In Illinois; ‘No Blue Memories’ Gwendolyn Brooks Production; Day With(out) Art Film
TheBody.com: Marnina Ross-Miller Is a Young Leader Who Wants to Learn From Older HIV Activists
TheBody.com: Long-Term Survivors of HIV
POZ: POZ-100
Edge Media Network: Why Voting in Midterms is HIV Advocacy

OCTOBER 2018

Huffington Post: I Confronted Mitch McConnell and Interrupted Susan Collins. And I’ll Do It Again. (Naina Khanna’s op-ed)
POZ: Watch: HIV Activists Protest Brett Kavanaugh
Huffington Post: Watch Republican Senators Dodge Women’s Questions About Sexual Assault (PWN E.D. Naina Khanna birddogs Mitch McConnell in airport)
Huffington Post: Mitch McConnell: Brett Kavanaugh Protesters Won’t “Scare Us”
The Cut (New York Magazine): The New Era of Confrontation
CNN: Activists Confront Senators at Airport
The Cut (New York Magazine): Republican Senator Hides in Men’s Bathroom When Confronted by Sexual Assault Survivors
Carbonated.TV: Orrin Hatch To Sexual Abuse Survivors Protesting Kavanaugh: ‘Grow Up’
POZ: How Red Does The Line Have to Be?
New York Times: With a Transformed Judiciary in Sight, Mitch McConnell “Will Not Be Intimidated” (PWN E.D. Naina Khanna birddogs Mitch McConnell in airport)

SEPTEMBER 2018

New Yorker: How the Kavanaugh Protests Reached the National Stage (PWN CO member Mary Jane Maestas quoted)
USA Today: Activists Protest Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination (PWN CO member Mary Jane Maestas prominently featured and named in photo)

AUGUST 2018

KQED: HIV-Positive with No Money? This Woman’s Been There and Wants to Help

JULY 2018

BBC: Interview with Naina Khanna on state of the epidemic in the U.S. (starts at 23:00)
Windy City Times: Global Human Rights Advocates Say No AIDS 2020 in United States
TheBody.com: Citing Trump Policies, Activists Want AIDS 2020 Conference Moved Out of U.S.
Bay Area Reporter: Activists Want Next AIDS Confab Out of Bay Area
POZ: Don’t Hold the AIDS 2020 Conference on U.S. Soil, Urge HIV Groups
London Free Press (London, Ontario, Canada): U.S. AIDS Forum Could Be Sig n of Hope or Threats
POZ: Why Activists Want the 2020 AIDS Conference Removed from the U.S.
Ghana Business Press: No AIDS Conference in Trump’s America – Activists
KPFA: Interview with Naina Khanna and George Ayala on removing AIDS 2020 from the U.S. (interview starts at 35:00)
Intomore: Citing Safety Concerns, AIDS Activists Call on AIDS 2020 to Pull Out of San Francisco and Trump’s America

JUNE 2018

QNotes: Regional: Law Modernization, Network Retreat (about HINAC3)
TheBody.com: Most Impacted Communities Take Center Stage at HINAC3

MAY 2018

The Daily Iowan: Gov. Reynolds Signs Heartbeat Bill Into Law (quotes Rebecca Wang)
IfWhenHow.org: Abortion Ban Likely to Fail in Court, Puts Iowans in Danger (quotes Rebecca Wang)
Rewire News: Violent, Extreme Views on Abortion Don’t Deserve a Platform (op-ed co-authored by Rebecca Wang)
POZ: A Call to Support Immigrants Targeted by Hateful Policies & Rhetoric (our collaborative May Day 2018 statement)
Living Proof blog: What’s the 6-Word Reason at the Heart of Your Advocacy? Here’s Katie’s. (featuring graduated policy fellow Katie Willingham)

APRIL 2018

TheBody.com: Fired Up and Ready to Vote: Evany Turk Mobilizes the HIV Community for Midterms
abc15 News: Myrtle Beach Hosts National Summit for Women with HIV
MyFabulousDisease: The Positive Women’s Network 2018 “Speak Up!” Summit
NBC News: Travel Policies Make U.S. Unsafe for AIDS Conference, Activists Say (quotes Naina Khanna)
TheBody.com: Name HIV Activists Fiercer Than the Positive Women’s Network. I’ll Wait.

MARCH 2018

TheBody.com: U.S. Networks of People with HIV Oppose U.S. Location for 2020 International AIDS Conference.
TeenVogue: Nearly a Quarter of People Living with HIV in the U.S. Are Women
TheBody.com: New Toolkit Supports Advocates Using Media to Fight for HIV Justice
TheBody.com: Positive Organizing Shero: Mona Jessi

FEBRUARY 2018

POZ: Empowered Legacies
NMAC: Constituent Spotlight: Teresa Sullivan
POZ: Why Does HIV Need a Racial Justice Framework?
amfAR: Cure Countdown: Epic Voices

JANUARY 2018

POZ: 5 Awesome 2017 Videos About U=U (PWNCares)
TheBody.com: Trump’s Firing of the HIV Council Was Bad, but We’ve Been Here Before (quotes Naina Khanna)
Dallas Voice: HIV/AIDS: Looking back at 2017, ahead at 2018
TheBody.com: Even When Criminalization Isn’t a Threat, Abusers Use HIV as a Tool of Coercion and Control
TheBody.com: HIV Community Responds to New HHS “Conscience and Religious Freedom” Division
Plus Mag: Kamaria Laffrey is #2 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2018

DECEMBER 2017

Huffington Post: Undetectable=Untransmittable. Why the Hell Isn’t That Catching On? (op-ed by Naina Khanna)
NYU: Refusing to Vanish: Muslim Women’s AIDS Activism (featuring Waheedah Shabazz-El)
My Fabulous Disease: amfAR Chair Kenneth Cole Must Be Replaced. Here’s 5 Suggestions. (featuring Waheedah Shabazz-El)
Action9 News Denver: How One Colorado Woman Fights HIV Stigma: “It’s Not a Dirty Word Anymore” (featuring Mary Jane Maestas)
National AIDS Memorial Grove: Surviving Voices: Women and AIDS (featuring Barb Cardell, Pat Kelly, Gina Brown, Waheedah Shabazz-El, Tranisha Arzah, Naina Khanna, Cecilia Chung, Bamby Salcedo)
TheBody.com: Undetectable=Untransmittable Not Widely Known Among People Living with HIV, Panelists Say (PWNCares)
Huffington Post: World AIDS Day: How Far We Have Come, How Momentous–but Fragile–Our Victories (op-ed by Naina Khanna)
Huffington Post: The President Has Declared War on People with HIV (op-ed by Naina Khanna)
TheBody.com: Looking Back on 2017 in HIV/AIDS, and What’s in Store for 2018

NOVEMBER 2017

CNBC: Science battles politics in growing state by state debate over HIV felony charges
Windy City Times: HIV/AIDS Advocates: AmFAR Chair Kenneth Cole Should Resign
POZ: How Do You Build a Racially Just and Strategic HIV Movement?
POZ: POZ 100 Celebrating Women
Fred Hutch blog: A Voice for HIV Cure (Tranisha)
TheBody.com: What Is the Future of the Female Condom?
Plus Mag: Georgia HIV Advocates Demand Betty Price Resign (by Shyronn Jones)
Healthline: HIV Honors: The Most Influential Voices of 2017 (featuring Kamaria Laffrey, Maria Mejia, Carrie Foote and Davina Conner)

OCTOBER 2017

Black AIDS Weekly: Disparities in Health Outcomes, Barriers to Care Are About More than Just Access

TheBody.com: I Was an American Girl: One Trans Guy Says Thanks and Bye to Tom Petty
Huffington Post: Criminalizing HIV Status Is Wrong: Gov. Brown Should Stop It

Gears of Biz: Criminalizing HIV Status Is Wrong: Gov. Brown Should Stop It

Windy City Times: CA Governor Signs Bill Modernizing State HIV Laws

I’m Still Josh blog: Breaking: Governor Signs Bill Updating California HIV Laws

Gay Pop Buzz: HIV Laws in California Experience Sweeping Change

POZ: California Governor Signs Bill Modernizing HIV Crime Laws

10,000 Couples: Exposing Others to HIV Will No Longer Be a Felony in California

Business Insider: Elton John AIDS Foundation Applauds California Governor Jerry Brown for Signing SB 239 into Law

Seattle Children’s Hospital Pulse: New Hope for HIV Treatment

Plus Mag: #45 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Teresa Sullivan

POZ: Poz Stories: Christina Carta

Plus Mag: #42 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Janet Kitchen

KOMO 4 News Seattle: Advances in Immunotherapy May Help Treat HIV

Plus Mag: #41 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Loren Jones

Plus Mag: #37 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Lepena Reid

Plus Mag: #38 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Meta Smith-Davis

Plus Mag: #36 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Venita Ray

Plus Mag: #31 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Shyronn Jones

Plus Mag: #30 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Naimah O’Neal

Plus Mag: #28 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Bre Campbell

Greater Than AIDS: Empowered: Trans Women & HIV

JUNE 2016

TheBody.com: Will California’s HIV Organ Transplant Law Help Scuttle HIV Criminalization?
TheBody.com: As Race and Privilege Take Center Stage in HIV Community, a Call for Listening and Allyship

Plus Mag: Will California’s HIV Organ Transplant Law Help Scuttle HIV Criminalization?
Positively Aware: Can Older People Get Some…Satisfaction?

TheBody.com: Grieving Orlando

TheBody.com: Octavia Lewis Is Glad to Be Alive and Living Her Truth Without Apology
TheBody.com: How HIV Stigma Compounded the Trauma of a Violent Anti-Gay Attack

MAY 2016

TheBody.com: 5 Ways to Fight HIV Stigma by Building Your Skills Online

Plus Mag: Kerry Thomas HIV Criminalization Appeal Dismissed

TheBody.com: HIV Survivors Need Support, Not Jail Cells

A&U Mag: Julie Graham: Advocate

Well Beyond HIV: I Want to Let Other Women Know

Plus Mag: Second HIV Is Not a Crime Convention Draws Advocates from Across the U.S.

Plus Mag: Clinton Promises She’ll Reform HIV Criminalization Laws

Instinct Magazine: Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization

Plus Mag: 10 Things I Learned from HIV Is Not a Crime II

South Florida Gay News: HIV Is Not a Crime Event Starts May 17

LGBTQ Nation: Hillary Clinton: HIV Is Not a Crime

Logo TV NewNowNext: Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization Laws

Unicorn Booty: What Will HIV Reform Look Like Under Clinton?

Alabama Public Radio: AIDS Advocates Meeting Today in Huntsville

POZ magazine (print edition June 2016): Surveying the Needs of Women with HIV

POZ.com: HIV Is Not a Crime Training Academy Targets Unjust Laws

TheBody.com: Activists Win Legislative Overhaul of Colorado’s HIV Criminalization Laws, Await Governnor’s Signature

TheBody.com: Finding My Voice as a Woman Living with HIV

Plus Mag: #55 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Pat Kelly

Out Magazine: Hillary Clinton: HIV/AIDS Are Still with Us, We Still Have Work to Do

POZ.com: Mark S. King Interviews Sean Strub at HIV Is Not a Crime II

HIVEqual: What I Learned from HIV Is Not a Crime Training Academy
LGBT Weekly: California Legislature Approves Bill Allowing Donation of HIV-Positive Organs

San Diego Gay & Lesbian News: Bill Passes in CA to Allow HIV-Positive Organ Donation

SF Chronicle: Legislature OKs Bill to Allow Transplants from Donors with HIV

Gay Star News: It’s Now Legal to Donate HIV-Positive Organs in California

Plus Magazine: California Governor Signs Historic HIV Bill

TheBody.com: Kari Hartel, Advocate and Mom, Bridges the Gap Between HIV Long-Term Survivors and Newbies

HRC Blog: HRC Participates in HIV Is Not A Crime II; Advocates to End Bad HIV Laws

APRIL 2016

TheBody.com: Young Women Living with HIV Deserve Support & Leadership Roles in HIV Community

A&U Mag: Women’s HIV Program: Empowerment is Treatment

Plus Mag: #70 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Evany Turk

Plus Mag: #69 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Arianna Lint

Plus Mag: #67 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Barb Cardell

Plus Mag: #66 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Grissel Granados

Plus Mag: #64 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Tranisha Arzah

TheBody.com: Take Action! Tell Cass County Sheriff HIV Is Not a Crime

The Well Project: Why Race Matters

Positively Aware Mag: Caring about HIV Criminalization

TheBody.com: State by State, People with HIV and Allies Fight to Change Laws

TheBody.com: Living with HIV: Turning Points

My Fabulous Disease (Mark King’s blog): The Comfort of Blaming Other People for New HIV Cases

TheBody.com: Where Women with HIV Find Their Voice

Plus Mag: #61 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Wanda Brendle-Moss

Plus Mag: #60 of Our Most Amazing HIV-Positive People of 2016: Octavia Y. Lewis

MARCH 2016

Huffington Post: Scary Statistics about Women and HIV

amFAR.org: Let’s Talk About Health: A Conversation with Vanessa Johnson

HIVEqual: Why Are Women with HIV Dying Earlier than Men?

POZ: What One Thing Would Help Women with HIV Stay in Care?

ETR blog: Wonder Woman Says: Fight for Justice on NWGHAAD

Hello Beautiful: What Black Women Living with HIV Want You to Know

Thebody.com: Groundbreaking Report Identifies Unique Needs of Women Living with HIV, Challenges to Engagement in Care

Thebody.com: Women With HIV Face Sex Negativity, Shaming and Multiple Obstacles to Comprehensive Care, Survey Finds

TheBody.com: Turning Anger Into Action: Clinton and Sanders Feel HIV Heat. Now Stand Up to Trump

Al Jazeera English “The Stream”: Aging with HIV

Washington Blade: The ‘Mystery’ Behind Clinton’s HIV Gaffe

San Diego Union-Tribune: Advocating for Those with HIV/AIDS

Proof Positive Radio Show (New Orleans): Interview with Rachel Moats

TheBody.com: A Child’s Love: My Story of Self-Stigma and Redemption

Philadelphia Gay News: Criminal Charges Against HIV-Positive Nurse Withdrawn

HIVEqual: The Default Crime of Being HIV-Positive and Transgender

Real Health Magazine: What One Thing Would Help Women with HIV Stay in Care?

FEBRUARY 2016

Ebony magazine: Faces of HIV: Sounding Off for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Da
Westside Gazette: Not Leaving Anyone Out: Tackling HIV Criminalization as a Racial Justice & Public Health Priority

POZ: Sexual Health Care for All

San Francisco Chronicle: For Many Women, HIV Is Byproduct of a Lifetime of Trauma

AIDS United Blog: AIDSWatch, Advocates & Activists: More Important than Ever

PBS Independent Lens: Wilhemina’s War

JANUARY 2016

POZ magazine: Black Lives Matter

The Daily Beast: The HIV Drug Half a Million Women Need

My Fabulous Disease blog: 16 HIV Advocates to Watch in 2016

TheBody.com: Organizational Sign-On: Demand the Entertainment Industry Do More in Supporting & Protecting Its Workers Living with HIV

Charleston City Paper: Workers March for Higher Wages Outside Democratic Debate
TheBody.com: Waheedah Shabazz-El Finds Spiritual Freedom as a Muslim Woman with HIV
TheBody.com: Not Leaving Anyone Out: Tackling HIV Criminalization as a Racial Justice & Public Health Priority

Washington Blade: In Dem Primaries, HIV Criminalization Remains an Orphan Issue

DECEMBER 2015

TheBody.com: PWN-USA Statement on the Federal Action Plan for NHAS

TheBody.com: New U.S. HIV/AIDS Action Plan is More Strategic on Services but Overlooks Realities, Needs of Key Populations, Say Advocates

Women’s Health magazine (Rachel Moats’s story): This Is What It’s Really Like to Live with HIV

Futures Without Violence Health E-Bulletin

TheBody.com: Join the Counter Conference at NHPC

TheBody.com: How Buffalo Hump Can Affect Self Image, Threaten HIV Med Adherence: Rose’s Story

A&U Magazine: Red, White & U

CNN Health: Who’s Being Treated for HIV and Who’s Not

KQED: It’s Not Hard to Treat HIV–Unless You’re Poor

PBS NewsHour: Ending HIV May Hinge on Erasing Economic Disparities

NOVEMBER 2015

TheBody.com: Innocent or Unsavory? Women, HIV and the Charlie Sheen Media Storm
TheBody.com: Let’s Honor the Importance of Networks for People Living with HIV This World AIDS Day

AIDS United blog: Empowering Women to End HIV & Intimate Partner Violence

Futures Without Violence blog: How to Support Women Living with HIV on World AIDS Day
HIVE blog: Empowered Watch Party + Panel Discussion

POZ.com: POZ 100

The Pride LA: Californians Thriving with and Leading the Fight Against HIV

Ravishly.com: World AIDS Day: HIV and American Women

AIDS United blog: Can I Count on You?

OCTOBER 2015

HIVEqual.org: The Connection Between Women with HIV and Domestic Abuse

Plus Magazine: Breaking the Silence, Breaking Out of the Violence

Thebody.com: I Didn’t Want to Die, Saving Ourselves,Tainted Passion

Poz.com Newsfeed: 2015 Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

Lambda Legal blog: Commemorating the National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV
The Feminist Wire: Self-Determination and the Struggle to End Violence Against WLHIV

Edge Media Network News: National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

National Women’s Health Network website: Help End Violence Against WLHIV!

Women with a Vision website: WWAV Statement in Support of the National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

Futures Without Violence blog: Guest Blogger: Supporting Women with HIV/AIDS

The Well Project website: One out of Two Women Living with HIV Experiences Intimate Partner Violence: The Intersection of Violence, Trauma and WLHIV

AIDS United Policy Blog: Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV

TheBody.com: Help Make Trauma-Informed Care the Next Legacy of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

TheBody.com: Women, HIV and Intimate Partner Violence

TheBody.com: Advocates Take Aim at ‘Targets’ of Updated NHAS

TheBody.com: Networks Led by People with HIV Resurge in US

POZ.com: Trauma & HIV

kff.org: Women, HIV & Intimate Partner Violence

“Our Voices” – Four PWN-USA leaders featured on the official Office on Women’s Health website for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, March 10, 2015

Heather Arculeo, Co-Chair, PWN-USA-San Diego

“Christie’s Place not only offered me services, but a sense of belonging, openness, acceptance, compassion, and understanding. I knew that I needed to be in a place like this, and vowed to help others so they wouldn’t feel trapped and isolated, as I once did. Now I am a full-time Retention in Care Peer Navigator at Christie’s Place.” In Heather’s voice

Vickie Lynn, PWN-USA Member, Florida

“At one time, I thought that helping one life at a time was what I wanted to do, yet today I know that by following my dreams and doing research, I have the potential of helping to improve hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.” In Vickie’s voice

Rachel Moats, Member and Communications Rep, PWN-USA-San Diego

“I firmly believe everything happens for a reason and HIV was simply the catalyst that helped me to become this amazing advocate for people living with HIV.” In Rachel’s voice

Rose Todd-Stanford, Member and Outreach Coordinator, PWN-USA-Ohio

“I’m still in the fight to end the spread of HIV/AIDS and improve awareness and treatment, with a particular focus on women and young girls. The future of our nation depends on it.” In Rose’s voice

Outspoken for Others, POZ Magazine, March 2015

“As one of 25 members of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), Gina Brown brings the voices of Southern African-American women living with HIV/AIDS to top U.S. policymakers.” Read more

Sisterhood in Action – Q&A with PWN-USA Board Chair Barb Cardell, POZ Magazine, March 2015

“As women speak for ourselves and we’re heard, we find that so much can change in our lives. We realize that perhaps abusive situations and a lack of quality health care are no longer things we’re willing to live with.” Read more

When Words Work Against Us: The Language of HIV Stigma, TheBody.com, February 15, 2015

“Misinformation can be the enemy of hope when people are trying to make change, whether in their individual lives or at the broader public level. Using imprecise language to describe people living with HIV is an assured way of fostering fear and discrimination.” Read more, including quotes from PWN-USA founding member and staffer Waheedah Shabazz-El, and PWN-USA members Vickie Lynn and Valerie Wojciechowicz

The 20 Most Amazing HIV-Positive Women of 2015, HIVPlus Magazine, February 2015

Words to Live By: Philadelphia Activist Asha Molock Turns Her Positive Thoughts into an Inspirational Book for People Living with HIV, A&U Magazine, February 5, 2015

Photographed Exclusively for A&U by Freedom G Photography

“This sharp, sexy, and vibrant sixty-four-year-old defies the term ‘senior citizen’ and refuses to dwell in the past. She isn’t looking in the rear-view mirror; she is only looking forward.” Read more

Common Threads: An Integrated HIV Prevention and Vocational Development Intervention for African American Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, Vol. 7 (2014); Issue 7

Congratulations to PWN-USA staff member and Common Threads founder Vanessa Johnson and her co-authors from the National Working Positive Coalition and other institutions, who are broadening the research and attention on the benefits of economic justice interventions by and for women with HIV. Read the abstract and download the full article

Stigma Fuels Small Town HIV Hysteria in Michigan, TheBody.com, January 23, 2015

“HIV stigma is more complicated than just HIV. HIV stigma is also homophobia. It is also racism. It is also prejudice against and caused by dislike of sex workers and drug users,” says PWN-USA Executive Director Naina Khanna. Read more

From Darkness to Light: A Journey to Healing, by Houston PWN-USA Member Venita Ray, OutSmart Houston, January 1, 2015

“This is a story about hope, change, and transformation. Change, for me, is usually motivated by insight or pain. In my case, HIV was the catalyst.” Read more

The Top 15 HIV Fundraisers of 2014, EDGE Boston, December 29, 2014

“Although technically an awareness campaign and not a fundraiser, the Positive Women’s Network — United States of America (PWN-USA) teamed up with Merck to launch ‘I Design,’ a national HIV educational campaign.” Read more

How Do Policing Practices in the U.S. Affect HIV? TheBody.com, December 18, 2014

“The Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) AIDS Philanthropy Summit convened in Washington, D.C., in the midst of daily vigils and marches calling for justice in the police killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others. So TheBody.com took a moment to ask conference attendees how policing practices in the U.S. affect the HIV epidemic.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA Executive Director Naina Khanna and other insightful allies

Activists Must Address HIV in Reproductive Justice Advocacy, RH Reality Check, December 2, 2014

“Reproductive justice provides an intersectional analytical framework that allows us to interrogate interlocking systems of power, and to address the root causes and the distributive impact of oppressive sexual and reproductive health policy, law, and culture on the lives of people living with HIV.” Read more by co-author Nerissa Irizarry, PWN-USA’s 2014-15 Reproductive Justice and HIV Legal Fellow

Can a Judge Order People to Take HIV Medication? TheBody.com, November 3, 2014

“There is a long history of public health measures being used to harm vulnerable people.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA’s Naina Khanna and Nerissa Irizarry

Local Perspective: “Yes, There Are People in Your State Living with HIV” AIDVu.org, October 29, 2014

AIDSVu is an interactive online map illustrating the prevalence of HIV in the US in stunning visual detail. In this blog entry, PWN-USA Board Chair and PWN-USA-Colorado leader Barb Cardell breaks down how this online mapping tool can be a powerful ally in advocacy. Read more

Study Shows (PTSD) Among Women Living With HIV May Be 5x That Of The General Population Of Women: A Q&A with PWN-USA’s Naina Khanna, VisualAids.org, October 26, 2014

“[Y]ou can’t take race and class out of the equation here. It’s no accident that most women with HIV in the US are women of color and low-income women, predominantly Black. The same women we’re not prioritizing in the HIV response are—guess what?— not prioritized in *any* response.” Read more

Gender-Based Violence is a Leading Cause of HIV in Women and We Need to Stop It, HIVPlus Magazine, October 23, 2014

“In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month this month, the Positive Women’s Network-USA spearheaded a National Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV. That’s today. Both events are like National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, in that they all serve as a great reminder that any resolution to the problem of women and HIV belongs not just to governments, and public health workers, or non-profit organizations, but to people like us. And violence is a problem.” Read more

Was Cicely Bolden’s Murder the Ultimate Result of HIV Stigma? Experts Weigh In, HIVPlus Magazine, October 23, 2014

“The chance that Larry Dunn would get HIV from Cicely Bolden via vaginal penetration is slim: four in 10,000. But with misinformation and stigma around HIV, he thought he was dying. Here’s what the experts are saying about Larry Dunn’s murder confession and why matters to anyone who cares about HIV.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA’s Naina Khanna

Natl Day of Action to End Violence Against Women With HIV, EDGE Boston, October 23, 2014

“Said PWN-USA-Philadelphia Co-Chair LaDonna Boyens: ‘I have walked in the shoes of women survivors of violence; when they look at me and see the advocacy I’m doing now, they might think, Maybe I can do helpful things for someone else, too.'” Read more, including quotes from other PWN-USA leaders

Domestic Violence Affects Women Living with HIV at 2 Times National Rate; Trauma Complicates Treatment, Increases Infectiousness, AIDS United, October, 15, 2014

AIDS United hosts Congressional Briefing to raise awareness about and address the intersection of women, violence and HIV. Read more, including quotes from Congressional Briefing participant Naina Khanna

Southern States Are Now Epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., Washington Post, September 22, 2014

“The original face of AIDS was that of a middle-class, often white, gay man living in New York or San Francisco. That picture has changed over time as people of color have become disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Today, the face of AIDS is black or Latino, poor, often rural — and Southern.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA-South Carolina member Deadra Malloy

Transgender Women Living With HIV: New Study on Relationships Reflects Widespread Challenges, Reinforces Why Policies Must Change, TheBody.com, September 10, 2014

“Stigma, discrimination and financial hardship experienced by one partner frequently affected physiological well-being and relationship quality for both partners.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA members and leaders Dee Borrego and Cecilia Chung

Counseling Closes Racial Gaps in HIV Clinical Trials, HealthLine, September 12, 2014

“No group is more affected by HIV than African-Americans, yet blacks and Hispanics are poorly represented in HIV and AIDS medical studies.” Read more, featuring quotes from PWN-USA and Women’s Research Initiative member Gina Brown

People with HIV Suffer from Depression Caused by Shame, Trauma, Substance Abuse, HealthLine, September 2, 2014

“Women with HIV often face poor health outcomes, usually due to stigma, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Positive Women’s Network-USA.” Read more

Midlife Virus, POZ Magazine, September 2014

“[HIV is] just a virus. I can’t let it stop me. I’m going to get everything I can get out of life.” Read more about PWN-USA-Philly leader Nancy Asha Molock, featured in an article about people diagnosed with HIV over 50

Are Women Living With HIV “Incentivized” to Remain Poor? TheBody.com, August 14, 2014

“[PWN-USA] hosted a recent webinar entitled Advancing Economic Justice and Employment Opportunities for Women Living With HIV, where Executive Director Naina Khanna called for a review of government policies requiring people living with HIV to keep their income under a certain level in order to qualify for subsidized medications and other benefits.” Read more

Merck’s HIV Campaign, I Design, Partners with Music Industry Promoter and HIV Advocate Maria Davis and Positive Women’s Network – USA to Encourage Women Living with HIV to be “Vocal” about their Treatment (PDF)

“Speaking Up” is Vital, Given the Significant Impact of the Disease on Women Read more

Stemming Stigma, POZ Magazine, July/August 2014

“HIV stigma among MSM is a hot topic, but stigma affects all groups, including women. ‘I’ve been living with HIV since 1993, and stigma hasn’t changed much,’ says Shari Margolese, a research consultant in Ontario, Canada, and a peer educator with the Positive Women’s Network (PWN), an international group. ‘People always want to know how you became positive. There has been a movement to define ‘good’ and ‘bad’ HIV-positive people.’

In 2013, PWN-USA released the findings of a study on gender-based stigma and violence. Margolese was one of the co-authors. Seventy-two percent of positive women surveyed experienced intimate-partner violence, as opposed to a quarter of all women. Seventy percent had been sexually assaulted, compared with 20 percent of all women. Many women also expressed changes in perceptions of their body image and sexual desirability.” Read more

HIV Stigma Violently Rages On: We Must Do Better, RH Reality Check, June 30, 2014

“The desperate need for current information about HIV and for positive messaging to counteract HIV stigma, plus the fact that six in ten Americans say that most of what they know about HIV and AIDS comes from the media, made the television news report about A.F.’s arraignment all the more deplorable. The reporter buzzes that the complainant ‘asked [A.F.] if she was clean before they became intimate.’

Clean?

The station’s unflinching adoption of this term blithely reinforces the notion that a person living with HIV is dirty, tainted, lesser.

It is this very devaluation of people living with HIV that was the direct cause of Elisha Henson’s death. In her honor, and in the honor of Cecily Bolden, who was killed by a lover nearly two years ago in Texas because of her HIV status, we must commit to do more and do better.

We at HIV Law Project stand behind the recommendations released last week by our allies at Positive Women’s Network-USA.” Read more

KC-area project utilizes churches for TIPS on addressing AIDS among blacks, KCPT, June 27, 2014

latrischa and yvonne taking it to the pews

LaTrischa Miles (left) and Yvonne Richmond were two of the women who organized the Taking it to the Pews AIDS-awareness project at Mt. Carmel Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Kan. (Photo by Mike Sherry/The Hale Center for Journalism)

“Years in the making, the project aims to leverage the credibility of the church in the black community to attack a disease that disproportionately affects African Americans. … And now, Berkely-Patton and her colleagues are poised to take what could be the final step in what may become a tool for black churches across the country to address AIDS – as well as exploring whether the TIPS [Taking it to the Pews] model can help reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases within the black community. …

‘If we could organize around an issue as complex as this, with the stigma and the lack of education,’ [PWN-USA Board member LaTrischa Miles] said, ‘then I think we can tackle anything.'” Read more

POZ at 20: Twenty Survivors Share Their Stories, POZ Magazine, June 2014

“Over nearly 200 covers, POZ did something else: We charted the byways of the epidemic as it wended its way through the various (and often vulnerable and oppressed) communities affected by HIV/AIDS in the United States and around the world: gay and bisexual men, intravenous drug users, people with hemophilia, sex workers, African Americans and other people of color, prisoners, transgender people, etc. These individuals and communities were not only HIV’s targets but also its fiercest fighters.” Read more

Alum Shines Light on Where Abuse and HIV Collide, STATEside, May 19, 2014

“Earlier this year, School of Social Work graduate Kat Griffith, M.S.W. ’14, sat at a table in Washington, D.C., with policy makers, advocates and members of President Barack Obama’s administration, discussing the perils HIV-positive women face in abusive relationships.

‘In the world of HIV, we look at it so medically,’ said Griffith. ‘We think if we give everyone the pills, they will all survive just fine. But women are still dying because they are surrounded by violence. Their HIV might be in control, but their lives are not.’

For decades, Griffith has been an advocate bringing light to the intersection between HIV and women in abusive relationships. Her invitation to the White House is only one step in a battle that is deeply personal.” Read more

Why Now Is a Terrible Time to Disrupt Care for Women Living With HIV, RH Reality Check, May 16, 2014

“May 11-17 marks National Women’s Health Week, when the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Women’s Health encourages women to get checkups and health screenings and build relationships with their health-care providers. Meanwhile, a significant source of care for women, infants, children, and youth living with HIV is under attack.” Read more

Stigma Drives Workplace Discrimination Against Workers Living With HIV, RH Reality Check, May 7, 2014

“Like [PWN-USA Board Chair Barb] Cardell, people who are HIV-positive from ‘every imaginable kind of job’ — including health care, food service, and law enforcement — have experienced workplace discrimination in one form or another.” Read more

Understanding the Promise: Considering the Experiences of Women Living with HIV to Maximize Effectiveness of HIV Prevention Technologies, Women’s Health Issues, March 2014

“Women are more than partners and mothers of children. Women’s needs are not well-served by plans in which they are present only by implication.” PWN-USA leaders and allies know that women living with HIV are a rich source of first-hand information regarding women’s HIV prevention and care needs — and that this resource is largely untapped. Now, evidence to support this knowledge has been published in the latest edition of Women’s Health Issues in an article researched and written almost entirely by women living with HIV! This publication is a major step forward in amplifying the voices of women living with HIV not only in advocacy, but in research as well. Read the abstract of the paper here and read the full manuscript here…

Positive Women’s Network – USA: Sisters of Change, A&U Magazine, March 7, 2014

“African-American women are more impacted by HIV than women of any other race or ethnicity in the U.S. Yet when it comes to addressing their plight, it’s mostly men who call the shots and set the agenda. Meet five positive women from across the country who are committed to being a part of the solution, fighting for gender equity.

“They call themselves ‘Sisters of Change.’ As members of Positive Women’s Network-USA, they motivate women living with HIV to get involved in all levels of policy and decision-making. They’re raising their voices for women’s rights in the HIV-positive community, refusing to be counted out. In a no-holds-barred discussion, a group of female activists share their stories of surviving the past, embracing the present, and empowering themselves to change the course of the future.” Read more

Empowering Entrepreneurs: How an HIV intervention grew into a microenterprise, POZ Magazine, March 2014

“As she worked in the field, [Vanessa] Johnson observed that when women finally did come out to talk about their history, they didn’t talk about HIV specifically. Instead, she recalls, ‘when women told their stories, they talked about their childhood. And just like me, they suffered a lot of trauma in the form of abuse. I thought about it intuitively and was like, “This is a common thread.”‘

“Thus, in 2007 she launched Common Threads, what is now a five-day, small-group training session that she offers around the country. It’s designed to help HIV-positive women connect the dots between their life experiences and their positive status and then to increase their willingness to tell their stories and disclose their status to their families, friends and communities. It’s storytelling as a means for disclosure, self-empowerment, HIV prevention and activism.” Read more

Play Smart Together – With Dee Borrego, Visual AIDS, February 11, 2014

“In the hazy and heady days of my early life as a person with HIV, I was filled with a passion to fight and rail against the injustices I was experiencing. I felt angry at everyone – at society, at my life, and especially about my ex who had infected me and condemned me to a different life than the one I had known before. …

“My anger convinced me to search out any legal protections or ramifications of my ex’s behavior. I wanted more than anything to find a way to find some sort of security in the law …

“Through my own education as an activist and HIV educator, and through my own lens as a Mexican-American, Jewish transwoman raised in a majority White, Christian environment, I’ve found that my perception and understanding of the application of law in modern American society is hideously biased.” Read more

Your Call: How Far Have We Come With HIV/AIDS Activism? KALW Public Radio San Francisco, January 30, 2014

What can we learn from the first wave of HIV/AIDS activism in the US? What’s the divide between the different communities who’ve been hit by this disease?

Guests:

Sean Strub, long-time gay rights and AIDS activist, author of Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival

Naina Khanna, executive director of Positive Women’s Network – USA. Listen to this interview

Absolutely Positive: The Story of Tami Haught, ABC5News Des Moines, January 30, 2014

Credit: ABC5News WOI-DT

“As another legislative session gets underway, thousands of people will be there, pushing for new laws and policy. One woman, in particular, has spent many years fighting for change.

“Her story is so fascinating, she’s been called one of the top 100 unsung heroes of her cause. And in her words, she is traveling a most unlikely path.

“When you first meet Tami Haught, you get the impression she is exactly the person you want in your corner if you are in the fight of your life. And that’s what she does, fight, on behalf of Iowans living with HIV and AIDS.” Read more

Sister Solidarity, POZ Magazine, January 2014

“I work with the most badass and fierce group of women I have ever known. I have so much respect for every single one of them. They inspire me every day to not just keep in the work but to do it better, to do more or to do it differently.

“We want a world where women with HIV are valued, where there is justice for everyone with or vulnerable to HIV, and where our rights are upheld. As long as there are things like criminalization laws and discrimination of any kind against people with HIV, as long as there is gender inequality or there is violence, there will be a need to continue the work.” Read more

Building an Organized Voice for U.S. Women Living With HIV: Part One of a Two-Part Conversation, TheBody.com, December 2, 2014

“Female HIV advocates have been active in responding to the HIV epidemic since its earliest days. Yet there is a dearth of leadership by women, and especially women living with HIV, in HIV organizations and in the communities most greatly impacted by HIV. Enter the Positive Women’s Network of the United States of America (PWN-USA, or PWN), which formed in June 2008 — not only to prepare women living with HIV to be leaders, but to build the strategic power of all women living with HIV in the U.S., and to train a gender equality and human rights lens on the HIV epidemic as a whole. This year saw a milestone in PWN-USA’s development, when the network became an independent organization.

“In part one of this conversation, five women living with HIV who have been part of PWN-USA since its founding talk about how the network came to be, and the strides made in its first five years. Read part two of the discussion, in which these leaders map PWN-USA’s path forward in expanding its work and living its values — and what this will mean for U.S. women living with HIV in the years to come. Read more; read Part Two

HIV-positive women seek to reduce stigma: new report opens long overdue conversation for underserved community, Al Jazeera America, December 2, 2013

“The U.S. network of HIV-positive women (PWN-USA), a national organization for women living with HIV, has dedicated a new report to Bolden. Her murder brought to light a number of issues facing the 300,000 women in this country who live with HIV, including their disproportionate experience of violence at the hands of romantic partners. Bolden, 28, put a face on a population that bears the brunt of the epidemic: African-American women who account for two-thirds of new HIV cases among women in the U.S.

[…] “It’s commonly understood that gay men with HIV are having sex,” Khanna said. […] But similar conversations are not happening among HIV-positive women, which is why PWN-USA released its landmark survey assessing “the state of sexual and reproductive health and rights for women living with HIV in the U.S.” The study is based on questionnaires crafted by the research team that were then completed by HIV-positive women around the U.S.” Read more.

World AIDS Day 2013: Vanessa Johnson on motherhood, activism and HIV, the Grio, December 1, 2013

What does it mean to live with HIV? For Vanessa Johnson, it means gathering strength from family and friends, and to never give up on finding love …

Attorney Vanessa Johnson was diagnosed with HIV after losing her husband to an illness she says doctors insisted was anything other than AIDS.

“Because were were a heterosexual couple, it never occurred to [our doctors] that we might have HIV,” she says. “They kept telling us it was anything else but that: the measles, mononucleosis, just all kinds of things other than HIV.” Continue reading.

PWN-USA’s Response to Tyler Perry’s Film Temptation

An Open Letter to Tyler Perry from a coalition of advocates.

PWN-USA Press Release:
Tyler Perry’s “Temptation” Sentences People Living with HIV to a Lifetime of Stigma and Isolation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Waheedah Shabazz-El, Founding Member, [email protected], (267) 231-2647
Sonia Rastogi, Communications Director, [email protected], (408) 306-6805

April 16, 2013, New York, NY – “Tyler Perry’s Temptation left me emotionally pained, angry and disappointed. Mr. Perry, a brilliant film maker, missed a genuine opportunity for honest and accurate community education around HIV. Instead, Temptation perpetuated HIV sensationalism and stigma. It demonized people living with HIV as irresponsible and portrayed women who acquire HIV as an undesirable, reclusive, sub-species, destined to live out their lives in suffering commented Waheedah Shabazz-El, a woman living with HIV.

Two weekends and $212.7 million later, Tyler Perry’s film Temptation perpetuates the War on Women, fuels stigma and discrimination towards people of color and people living with HIV, and condones the belief that people living with HIV are sinners, who deserve punishment. Read more here.

PWN-USA on BETAblog: National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2013

by Reilly O’Neal, San Francisco AIDS Foundation Political leaders and medical and service providers have a part to play in employing these new tools to help reduce HIV stigma and discrimination. “The conversations that providers and policymakers should now be having are: ‘Given the new science, what is my role in normalizing a discussion of sex, sexuality, and reproduction that is evidence-based and affirming of people living with HIV?’” Read more…

PWN-USA in the Media: Feminism Should Be Inclusive and Flexible, NY Times February 18, 2013

By Dani McClain, a Nation Institute fellow reporting on reproductive health and sexuality

To understand where feminism is headed, look to today’s reproductive justice movement. Check out the Mother’s Day cards celebrating nontraditional families that took the Internet by storm last year. Talk to the network of H.I.V.-positive women determined to shape the policies that affect them. Efforts like these are winning hearts and minds because they acknowledge what many of us have long known: An individual’s ability to chart her own course is intimately tied to what’s happening in her family and community. Read more.

World AIDS Day 2012 on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Show

Check out PWNer Sonia Rastogi speak on prevention justice, violence against women, and economic justice! Watch the video here.

Securing Care for Women Living with HIV: Challenges and Solutions for HIV-positive Women, Positively Aware, Sept/Oct 2012 Issue

By Naina Khanna
Five years ago, women had the dubious distinction of surpassing men as the majority of people in the world living with HIV. And in some countries, including Cambodia, Mozambique, and Rwanda, women now comprise nearly two-thirds of people living with the virus.

In the U.S., the HIV epidemic looks very different. Women comprise over a quarter of the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S.—not including transgender women, for whom no accurate data are available. […] Data from 2012 show that in the District of Columbia, rates of new HIV diagnosis among black women have doubled. In Maryland, 35% of all AIDS diagnoses are among women, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 36.4% of people with an AIDS diagnosis were women in 2009. […] Let’s be clear: this is not a numbers game anyone wants to win.”
Read the full article here…

The Female Face of HIV: ‘We don’t have to care for ourselves,’ NBC News, July 24, 2012

By Maggie Fox
“Another factor may be domestic abuse. A team at the University of California San Francisco published a study on Monday showing that physical and sexual abuse and trauma are major factors affecting which women become infected.

‘For a long time we have been looking for clues as to why so many women are becoming infected with HIV and why so many are doing poorly despite the availability of effective treatment,” said Dr. Edward Machtinger, who led the study. “Women who report experiencing trauma often do not have the power or self-confidence to protect themselves from acquiring HIV.'”
Read the full article here…

Domestic Violence Doubles Risk of Death for HIV+ Women, POZ Treatment News, July 31, 2012

By Laura Whitehorn
“Naina Khanna, the US-PWN coordinator and policy director at WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Disease), who moderated the [AIDS 2012] press conference, said, ‘Five years ago women had the dubious distinction of surpassing men in the world in HIV. Increasing evidence suggests gender-based violence is a major reason for this distinction.’ “
Read the full article here…

Guest Blog on The Feminist Wire: Creating a Biological Underclass: A Reality of Poverty for HIV+ Women, May 4, 2012

By Sonia Rastogi
“The same women who experience homelessness, sexual and/or intimate partner violence, surveilling of our bodies because of our gender identities, trepidation if we live in highly policed communities, and criminalization because of the color of our skin, who we love, and our immigration status are the same women who are disproportionately affected by HIV. One cannot separate HIV from the reproductive justice movement, the labor movement, or any other movement for that matter. Our movements must be integrated! Our push towards integration must be verbalized! And all women’s lives and bodies must be accounted for!” Read the full article here…

NEWS FLASH: health care services are changing for people living with HIV

January 17, 2011: Healthcare reform may have unintended consequences for HIV/AIDS patients by Mary Flynn on HealthyCal.org
Featuring PWNer Loren Jones and Sonia Rastogi – “Loren Jones was diagnosed with HIV 28 years ago. A relatively low viral load meant that for a long time, Jones, a 59-year-old African American woman, didn’t feel sick at all. “I ignored it completely,” she says of the first few years of her illness.” Read more.

January 20, 2011: Medicalizing HIV: Will Social Services Get Squeezed Out? by Zaineb Mohammed on New American Media
Featuring PWNer Loren Jones and allies Dr. Monica Gandhi – “Major medical breakthroughs over the past year in the treatment of HIV/AIDS are setting off some surprising alarm bells. While praised for their life-saving potential, they are causing a change in the dynamics of HIV/AIDS care – a shift that may squeeze out social services needed to support patients while they’re in treatment.” Read more.

World AIDS Day 2011 & Count Us In! campaign launch

On December 1st, 2011, U.S. Positive Women’s Network launched Count Us In!, a national campaign focused on upholding the rights of women living with HIV to achieve high-quality health care. PWNers across the country launched the campaign in their communities from Detroit, MI to Fort Collins, CO. In Oakland, CA the campaign launched with a press conference featuring Mayor Jean Quan, the Office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and the Office of Assembly Member Sandre Swanson.

KPFA 94.1:

The Morning Mix with Andres – December 1, 2011 at 8:00am

Click to listen (or download)

Letters and Politics – December 1, 2011 at 10:00am

Click to listen (or download)

Hard Knock Radio with Anita Johnson

“HIV+ Women in Oakland Demand, ‘Count Us In,'” New American Media featuring PWNer Sonia Rastogi

“Spiral of invisibility hides the continuing peril of AIDS in Silicon Valley,” San Jose Mercury News featuring PWNer Naina Khanna and WORLD Executive Director Cynthia Carey-Grant

“Oakland Women’s Group to Kick Off New Campaign on World AIDS Day,” Oakland North featuring PWNer Sonia Rastogi

“AIDS Day a time to remember, time to talk,” Galesburg News featuring PWNers Kat Griffith

“Michigan Health depts targeting HIV-positive women unfairly, experts say,” the Wasington Informer featuring PWNer Nicole Seguin

Giving Advocates a Voice: An Update with PWN in BETA Magazine

Philadelphia ACTUP chapter going strong

“Waheedah Shabazz-El is a 58-year-old heterosexual African American Muslim woman from Overbrook who discovered she was HIV positive while in prison in 2003.

She also is a member of the official U.S. delegation to the United Nations’ high-level meeting that this week will test the extent of the world’s commitment to ending AIDS.

In who she is and how far she has come, Shabazz-El represents the trajectory of an epidemic that has infected more than one million Americans and 60 million people worldwide – and triggered powerful advocacy forces that have changed medicine and culture – since a weekly federal report first described a mysterious disease in five gay men 30 years ago on Sunday.”

Read the full article here.

30 years of HIV: AIDS in the ’90s: ‘I wasn’t going to die miserably’

June 1, 2011 – PWN Founding Member Linda Scruggs talks with CNN about her experiences living with HIV as part of CNN’s 30 years of AIDS Coverage series. June 5, 2011 marks 30 years since the first case of HIV recorded. Linda is a powerful and courageous leader who discusses her journey living with HIV and her inspiration to serve women, youth and families.

Read CNN’s article and watch Linda’s video here!

KQED News: More Asian American Women Contracting HIV

May 17, 2011 – In honor of National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on May 19th, 2011, The Banyan Tree Project, an HIV anti-stigma campaign, and Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center hosted a press conference on A&PI women and HIV. PWNer Sonia Rastogi spoke on the press conference panel about the barriers to testing, treatment and care for A&PI women.

Listen to KQED’s coverage here!

The Princess Warrior: One Woman’s Battle for Survival and How It Has Made Her Stronger

May 5, 2011 – Positively Aware, the HIV Treatment Journal of the Test Positive Aware Network, features Barb Marcotte, PWN Steering Committee Member, who discusses her battle with HIV and the fight that needs to happen!

Excerpt:
“I am 43 years old now. It is time to change these thoughts and behaviors. Truth is, I know I am a sexy, strong woman—a true DIVA living with HIV. I know deep down, that fight is still there. It has been buried under a lot of shit for years, but I am there. The real me.” – Barb Marcotte

Click here to read the full article.

Poz Profiles: 31 at 30 with LaTrischa Miles

“I used to count my years because of my fears, now I want to make my years count.” – LaTrischa Miles

June issue – To commemorate 30 years of HIV, June’s feature issue of POZ Magazine is “31 Long-Term Survivors for 30 years of AIDS.” PWN Advisory Group Member LaTrischa Miles from Kansas City Free Clinic discusses about her experiences and provides a beacon of hope for all. Read the full article here.

Click here to read the full article.

“This Positive Life” video series from theBody.com: An Interview with Dee Borrego

April 2011 – Each month theBody.com posts videos from This Positive Life, a monthly videos series that interviews with people living with HIV to talk about their experiences giving you the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of what it means to live — and live well — with HIV. Check out April’s interview with Dee Borrego, one of PWN’s Founding Members. PWN thanks theBody.com for it’s phenomenal work!

Click here for the interview and video!

2011 Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:
“A survivor’s story: Life beyond an HIV diagnosis”

March 10, 2011: Acintia Wright featured on CBS 8 evening news, San Diego, CA

2011 Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:
PWN-Philadelphia chosen to represent HIV+ women; Philadelphia Mayor’s recognition

In recognition of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy’s 12 Cities initiative, Community Education Group, founded by A. Toni Young, launched “It’s Time for Action” for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a nation-wide campaign taking place in 12 U.S. cities to reflect the urgent response required to combat the epidemic among women and girls. The PWN-Philadelphia chapter was chosen as the sponsoring organization in Philadelphia to represent women and girls on this day. In addition, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter officially recognized WGHAAD on behalf of PWN-Philly’s efforts.

Read about PWN-Philly | Read more about the “It’s Time for Action” and the 12 Cities Initiative here

“The truth is, we do know which women are most likely to acquire HIV. All women may be at risk, but low-income women — especially black and Latina women in major urban areas with high HIV rates — have a much greater risk of HIV infection.”
– Naina Khanna

Women and HIV: A Nuanced Epidemic by Naina Khanna, Achieve: a joint publication of ACRIA and GMHC, Summer 2010

PWN-USA & Members in Media and Research Literature

NOVEMBER 2017

SEPTEMBER 2017

AUGUST 2017

JULY 2017

JUNE 2017

MAY 2017

APRIL 2017

MARCH 2017

FEBRUARY 2017

JANUARY 2017

DECEMBER 2016

NOVEMBER 2016

OCTOBER 2016

SEPTEMBER 2016

AUGUST 2016

JULY 2016