National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an annual observance to recognize the impact of HIV on women and girls. Here at At Positive Women’s Network – USA, a national network of women living with HIV, we work on addressing the HIV epidemic among women year round. Read on for events, articles, and digital actions from women living with HIV and allies on March 10,  National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day!

PWN-USA Statements

 

Voices from Our Community: Reflections by PWN-USA Members

Wanda Brendle-Moss.

Wanda Brendle-Moss.

Sister Warriors By Wanda Brendle-Moss, from The Well Project’s A Girl Like Me Blog “My nursing philosophy to the day I stopped nursing was…every patient is someone’s father, brother, mother, sister, son, or daughter…and I treated them as I wanted my family members treated. What struck me though was…Where were the women??Read More
penny_denoble

Penny DeNoble.

Bringing Visibility to Same-Gender-Loving Women This National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day By Penny DeNoble ” I want to bring attention to and create visibility for a group of sisters who are classified as being a part of a sexual minority group, that are often overlooked in our acknowledgement. I am a Black woman who lives with an HIV diagnosis, and I’m also a same-gender-loving woman.” Read More
Tami Haught.

Tami Haught.

Words Matter: Sharing as Much as I’m Comfortable to Stand Up to HIV Stigma By Tami Haught “If we give people the opportunity to self-identify similar traits or characteristics, others may begin to recognize that I am just like them or they are just like me.” Read More The Red Flags of My Past (and Future): Real Links Between Trauma and HIV By Heather “I need to understand that trauma affects others in the same way it affected me. What people don’t know is that my husband faced similar traumatic childhood experiences, which affected his risky behaviors too. Just like me, he had limited ability to develop healthy relationships and make good life decisions.” Read More olga_irwinReflections on How Far Women with HIV Have Come in the Past 16 Years: A Personal View By Olga Irwin “I was just so overwhelmed with how much support and how many more opportunities are now available for women living with HIV. I was so used to years of only knowing about a small group of women.” Read More loren_jones (1)I’m Feelin’ Like a Criminal: Why the Law Won’t Stop the Spread of HIV By Loren Jones “People face the same types of stigma and violence from these laws that they face on the streets. Shame never helps you learn. It only makes people hide deeper and farther from sight.” Read More
Rachel Moats.

Rachel Moats.

Understanding How I Became HIV Positive By Rachel Moats “I myself am just learning about the correlation between trauma and HIV among women living with HIV.” Read More      
teresa sullivan

Teresa Sullivan.

We’ve Come Too Far to Have HIV Criminalization Laws: How These Laws Impact the Lives of Women with HIV By Teresa Sullivan “Many women I have educated continue to have long conversations with me about the fears they still have of being in a healthy sexual relationship, because of the HIV criminalization laws. ” Read More More blog entries and reflections coming soon!  

Join the Action Online!

March 10:
  • The next #WeAreAllWomen Twitter Chat is going to be on National Women & Girls HIV Awareness Day at noon PT / 1pm MT/ 2pm CT / 3pm ET. The topic will be sexual empowerment!
  • From SisterLove: Twitter Chat – #ConnectingHIV&RJ – 1 PM – 2 PM EST – to bring awareness to the issues that connect reproductive justice and HIV among women and girls.
  • From The Well Project: In observance of NWHGAAD, we are excited to invite you to participate in our webinar, “Using Social Media as a Tool for Empowerment and Advocacy” taking place, Tuesday, March 10, 2015 from 1:00 – 2:30 ET. The webinar will feature three NWGHAAD ambassadors and Community Advisory Board members whose work and experiences can provide others with very valuable tools to successfully leverage social media as an advocacy tool in HIV. Followed by a Q&A, the webinar will address how to:- Use your story to break down the significant impact of HIV-related stigma (Michelle Anderson) – Maximize the impact of your message by avoiding stigmatizing language (Vickie Lynn) – How to best use and navigate major social media tools, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (Maria Mejia) If you ever wanted to be more active on social media, but were not sure about where to start, you won’t want to miss this informational webinar!Please click here to register for the event!
  • From the Office on Women’s Health: No matter where you are on March 10, we invite you to support NWGHAAD by wearing red lipstick, red shoes, and a red ribbon or pin, and take photos of yourself and post them on social media with the hashtags #RedOn10 and #NWGHAAD
  • Join the National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Thunderclap on March 10!Thunderclap is a social media tool that amplifies a message by getting a lot of people to say it together. By joining our National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Thunderclap, you and hundreds of others will share the same message on March 10 across Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.Join our Thunderclap before noon EDT on March 10!
March 17: #SaveRyanWhitePartD All-Day Social Media Advocacy Event! – Hosted by HIV Advocacy and Awareness

Events (By State)

CALIFORNIA

Oakland: How do laws criminalizing HIV exposure and non disclosure impact women? What implications do they have for our sexual and reproductive health, rights, and safety? This National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, join the Bay Area Positive Women’s Network – USA chapter for a community forum on HIV disclosure & transmission laws, and a lively discussion about upholding the human rights and dignity of people living with HIV. Learn about HIV criminalization, how HIV criminalization laws harm communities, and what we are doing to make a change in California and other states Tuesday March 10, 11am-2pm Office of AIDS Administration, Suite 310 a&b 1000 Broadway, Oakland Lunch will be provided ~ Please spread the word! Contact with any questions and to RSVP: Cynthia (415) 317-1568 Read about how HIV criminalization impacts women   Oakland: A WORLD Female Family Affair Join us Tuesday, March 10th 5:00-8:00PM at Everett and Jones in Jack London Square for an intergenerational dialogue about sex, relationships, and everything in between. This event is for young girls ages 12-24 and their moms, aunties, grandmas, or any other special woman in their lives. Join us for fun, prizes, music and dinner. Sorry guys, it’s ladies night! RSVP on Eventbrite: womenandgirlsday.eventbrite.com OR (510) 986-0340   San Francisco: Stepping Up Allyship and Supporting Leadership of Transgender women in the Epidemic MARCH 10TH 6-7:30PM Location: SF Main Public Library (100 Larkin Street) Latino/Hispanic Community Room REFRESHMENTS, ONSITE HIV TESTING, LOVE NOTES, & RAFFLE PRIZES! This event is to honor women including trans women working together as allies. It is also to honor those who have passed. Cosponsored by the Center for Transgender Excellence, the HIVE, Family Service Network, BAPAC, and Positive Women’s Network – USA For more information and to RSVP Caroline Watson: [email protected] RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/NWGHIVAD  

GEORGIA

Wednesday, March 11: Black Treatment Advocacy Network Lunch and Learn SisterLove’s Mother House | 1237 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.| 12 PM – 1 PM Atlanta Women’s Community Engagement Session – Fulton Co & Black AIDS Institute Paschal’s Southern Cuisine| 6000 North Terminal Parkway | 2 PM – 4 PM Fulton County Department of Health & Wellness – NWGHAAD Topic – Perinatal Transmission & Prevention Paschal’s Southern Cuisine| 6000 North Terminal Parkway | 5 PM – 8 PM Friday, March 13: SisterLove Captains & Cocktails Mother House | 1237 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. | 7 PM – 9 PM  

NEW YORK

Lesbian Forum2015     In commemoration of the National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Iris House is hosting To Dildo or Not to Dildo event on March 13th from 5-8pm.  We will be hosting a series of educational workshops on safer sex, HIV prevention and women.  Please invite your clients, especially women who might benefit from the event.        

OHIO

PWN-USA’s Ohio Chapter is hosting two events in the state! nwghaad_cincin_SHARP   Cincinnati: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Date: March 10, 2015 Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Place: UC Small Business Development Center, 3200 Burnet Avenue – Level A, Cincinnati, OH 45219 There will be advocacy opportunities, outstanding speakers with information on health, HIV testing, and supportive services. A light breakfast and lunch will be served.   nwghaad_columbus     Columbus: Sister My Sister, Are You a Point of Light? A Day of Advocacy, Action, and Wellness A Summit and Workshop in honor of the 10th Annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Date: March 13, 2015 Time: 9:30 am – 5:00pm (9:30 -10:30am check-in) Place: Drury Hotel, 88 East Nationwide Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43215    

TEXAS

Austin: Come #RocktheRedPump for NWGHAAD! NWGHAAD15

WASHINGTON, DC

From the Office on Women’s Health: This year the HHS Office on Women’s Health will commemorate the tenth observance of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) with a “Red Shoe and Red Lipstick HIV/AIDS Awareness Walk!” The walk will take place on March 10th from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. and begin near the White House in Lafayette Square Park and end at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building (200 Independence Avenue, SW). This 1.5 mile walk is designed to increase awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls, and those who love them; and to serve as a rallying point to promote HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. For more information on the event and to pre-register (to let us know you will be joining us) please click on this link (or cut and paste the full address into your web browser): http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-office-on-womens-health-red-shoe-and-red-lipstick-hivaids-awareness-walk-registration-15695591938