Bodily autonomy is the simple but radical concept that individuals have the right to control what does and does not happen to our bodies. When we have full bodily autonomy, not only are we empowered to make decisions about our health and future – without coercion or control by others – we also have the support and resources needed to meaningfully carry out these decisions. In the U.S. context, the bodies, sexuality, reproduction, and movement of women of color have been controlled and policed for hundreds of years, often violently and at a great cost to our rights. We assert the fundamental rights of all people, and in particular for women and folks of trans experience living with HIV, to control our bodies and futures.
Criminalization is the use of the law to make an action illegal. Federal crimes are established through statutes passed in Congress or through federal court rulings. State crimes are established through state legislatures and state court rulings.
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help fight infections and therefore makes it easier for the body to get sick. There is no cure but medicines can lower the amount of HIV in a person’s blood so much that HIV cannot be transmitted.
HIV criminalization is the unjust use of criminal laws, policies, and practices to punish people living with HIV based on their HIV status. HIV criminalization laws are discriminatory, stigmatizing, and outdated. Most were passed before people knew much about HIV treatment and transmission. They usually do not require intent to transmit HIV, actual transmission, or even a substantial risk of transmission of HIV. HIV criminalization undermines public health by discouraging HIV testing, fueling racist, stigmatizing myths about HIV transmission, and further marginalizing communities already vulnerable to HIV (and criminalization!), including Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, especially those who are also women, gay and bisexual men, people of trans experience, people who use drugs, sex workers, and immigrants.
Modernization of HIV criminalization laws means updating them so that they align with a current scientific understanding of HIV transmission. Modernization is different than fully repealing HIV criminalization laws. Instead of completely removing the law from the books, modernization makes it harder to criminalize people living with HIV solely based on their HIV status by, for example, requiring specific intent to transmit HIV, requiring that HIV transmission actually occur, or changing the penalty from a felony to a misdemeanor. This means HIV criminalization can still happen, but with safeguards that better protect the rights of people living with HIV.
People-first language puts people before illnesses or labels and describes who they are, not what they have been diagnosed with. It helps eliminate prejudice, removes value judgments, and shows respect and compassion. For examples of inclusive language, such as “people living with HIV,” see this list.
Repeal of HIV criminalization laws means completely removing HIV criminalization laws from the criminal code. Texas (1994), Illinois (2021), and New Jersey (2022) have repealed their HIV criminalization laws. However, general criminal statutes can still be used to criminalize people living with HIV.
Sentence-enhancement laws are laws that increase the amount of time someone has to spend in jail because of how a crime was committed or who the accused is. In the context of HIV criminalization, sentence-enhancement laws increase prison sentences solely because that person is living with HIV (or in some cases, any communicable disease).
Sex work is the exchange of sexual services for money between adults. It is a consensual transaction that may or may not include direct physical sexual contact and is distinct from sex trafficking.
