October 23, 2015, was our second National Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV (WLHIV)–and what a success it was! Thanks to an outpouring of support from our members, communities, allies and organizations working both in HIV and with intersectional issues:

  • Our Day of Action was endorsed by 92 organizations from around the world (see below) as well as an additional 84 individuals
  • Numerous and diverse organizations and individuals participated in our lively and informative Twitter Chat, co-hosted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (@nnedv), SisterLove Inc. (@SisterLove_Inc) and The Well Project (@TheWellProject), the morning of October 23, using our hashtags #EndVAWHIV and #PWNspeaks
  • Our Flashblog to #EndVAWHIV includes 18 contributions, including the stories of WLHIV impacted by violence and trauma, as well as posts on the topic and intersectional issues from organizations and individuals dedicated to working with WLHIV and domestic violence survivors, several of which were also featured on HIVPlusMag.com and TheBody.com
  • At least 6 diverse organizations posted statements of support for the Day of Action on their websites
  • Countless individuals and organizations changed their Facebook and Twitter profile pictures to our official Day of Action logo
  • Across the country, people heard and discussed the stories of overcoming violence of 5 PWN-USA members in the Kaiser Family Foundation film, Empowered, part of the Greater Than AIDS campaign (see video below)

The goal of our Day of Action is, of course, not only to raise awareness–a critical first step–but also to put forward solutions. One of the major initiatives PWN-USA is working toward is routine implementation of trauma-informed model of care for WLHIV, especially in clinics receiving federal Ryan White Program funding. We are also working to repeal laws that place WLHIV at disproportionate risk of violence, including laws criminalizing HIV, which discourage testing and treatment while perpetuating damaging stigma by sending the message that people living with HIV are dangerous, as well as laws criminalizing sex work and drug use.

PWN-USA called for the first National Day of Action to End Violence Against WLHIV last year in the wake of the brutal murders of Cicely Bolden and Elisha Henson, both of Texas, following disclosure of their HIV status. Nationally, 55% of WLHIV have faced intimate partner violence–and women with a history of trauma are more vulnerable to acquiring HIV. Click here for more facts about violence against WLHIV, or read this excellent article on HIVEqual.org.

PWN-USA thanks the following organizations for partnering with us and/or endorsing our second National Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV on October 23, 2015:

  • 30 for 30 Campaign
  • A Sister’s Gift Women’s Center, Dallas
  • ACT UP London
  • African Services Committee
  • AIDS Alabama
  • AIDS Foundation of Chicago
  • AIDS Project Los Angeles
  • AIDS United
  • Albanian Association OF PLWHA
  • APLA Health & Wellness
  • AS – Center For The Empowerment Youth Of People Who Are Living With HIV And AIDS
  • Aspirations
  • BABES-Network YWCA
  • Being Alive!
  • Bill’s Kitchen, Inc.
  • Caracole
  • Cascade AIDS Project
  • Center for Health and Gender Equity
  • Chicago Women’s AIDS Project
  • Christie’s Place
  • Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR)
  • Counter Narrative Project
  • CoyoteRI
  • emPOWERed Legacies
  • Federal AIDS Policy Partnership Structural Interventions Workgroup (FAPP SIWG)
  • Fierce Caucus and Black Womens Caucus of Union Theological Seminary
  • FORCE Baltimore
  • Forward Together Oakland
  • G III Associates
  • Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
  • GIRL U CAN DO IT, INC.
  • Global Justice Institute, Metropolitan Community Churches
  • Global Network of People Living with HIV, North America
  • GMFA The Gay Men’s Health Charity (London)
  • HAART Inc., Baton Rouge
  • Healthy & Free Tennessee
  • Hektoen Institute of Medicine
  • HIV Disclosure Project
  • HIV Prevention Justice Alliance
  • HIVE
  • Housing Works Brooklyn
  • Houston AIDS Research Team Cross-Network HIV CAB
  • Howard Brown Health Center
  • In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda
  • International HIV Partnerships
  • International Network of People Who Use Drugs
  • Justice for All Coalition
  • Lambda Legal L.A.
  • Latino Commission on AIDS
  • Lee’s Rig Hub
  • National Female Condom Coalition
  • National HIV/AIDS Disability Project
  • National Network to End Domestic Violence
  • National Press Club,Nepal
  • National Working Positive Coalition
  • NYTAG
  • Older Women Embracing Life, Inc.
  • Our Story Inc.
  • Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative
  • Philadelphia Center
  • Philadelphia Department of Public Health Ambulatory Health Services PrEP Program
  • Positive Living Women Malaysia
  • PowerSource Tucson
  • PWN-USA Colorado
  • PWN-USA South Carolina
  • PWN-USA San Diego
  • PWN-USA Bay Area
  • PWN-USA Louisiana
  • PWN-USA Ohio
  • PWN-USA Michigan
  • PWN-USA Philadelphia
  • PWN-USA Georgia
  • ReShape
  • Ribbon Consulting Group
  • Sero Project
  • Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS)
  • SisterLove, Inc.
  • SisterReach, Memphis
  • SisterSong
  • Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care Kansas City
  • SKUC (Slovenia)
  • The Afiya Center
  • The Empowerment Program Denver
  • The Praxis Project
  • The Sophia Forum
  • The Well Project
  • The Women’s Collective Washington, DC
  • Transgender Law Center
  • Tunisian Association of Positive Prévention
  • Women & Life
  • WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases)
  • Women With A Vision, Inc.
  • Women’s HIV Program at UCSF

Click below to watch and share the Kaiser Family Foundation film, Empowered, featuring 5 PWN-USA members in conversation with Tonya Lee Lewis:

And watch PWN-USA Georgia member Danielle, AKA Ghetto Rose, perform a spoken word piece on her experience with domestic violence:

[wpvideo TKmcJ8Iu]