Speak Up! News, Statements and Press Releases

PWN Remembers the Brilliant, Indomitable Loren Jones

2021-07-28T14:04:34-04:00June 23rd, 2021|Uncategorized|

June 23, 2021: PWN is deeply saddened by the passing of our brilliant, well-respected, and loved founding member Loren Jones earlier this month. Loren was a long-standing member of PWN’s board of directors, a pioneer in HIV advocacy, a prison [...]

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Join PWN in Honoring Juneteenth

2021-06-18T03:24:30-04:00June 18th, 2021|Black liberation, Black Lives Matter, Celebrate and Honor Black Women, racial justice|

June 18, 2021: In 1619, the first 350 kidnapped Africans were shackled and shipped to what is today known as the United States of America. Black people had been free. Now they were enslaved by a vicious system built on [...]

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PWN Welcomes the Supreme Court Decision on the ACA (California v. Texas)

2021-06-17T17:42:57-04:00June 17th, 2021|Access to Care, Affordable Care Act, health care|

June 16, 2021: People living with HIV and other conditions who know first-hand what it feels like to be denied insurance coverage due to preexisting conditions, as well as the millions of people who gained coverage through Medicaid expansion, can [...]

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AIDS United’s Position on Using Molecular HIV Surveillance to Track HIV Transmission Networks

2021-06-12T00:17:10-04:00June 12th, 2021|molecular HIV surveillance, Uncategorized|

Many HIV activists have expressed concern about molecular HIV surveillance (MHS), a practice that utilizes and shares data from people living with HIV without our consent. In June 2020, the AIDS United Public Policy Committee adopted this position statement calling [...]

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Marco Castro-Bojorquez, Presente! You are in our hearts forever.

2021-06-08T23:37:35-04:00June 8th, 2021|Uncategorized|

June 8, 2021Global activists from Positive Women's Network - USA, Sero Project, MPact, U.S. People living with HIV Caucus, HIV Racial Justice Now!, Desiree Alliance, International Community of Women Living with Women-North America, Global Network of People living with HIV/North [...]

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Organizing Spotlight: The HIV Caucus Unifies the Voices of HIV

2021-06-02T21:45:17-04:00June 2nd, 2021|advocacy|

June 2, 2021Are you a person living with HIV who wants to improve the quality of life for other people living with HIV? Do you want to get involved with like-minded advocates and networks of people living with HIV? Do [...]

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Organizing Spotlight: Thanks to the PWN Texas Strike Force, Low-Income Texans Living with HIV Will Still Get Their Meds

2021-09-16T14:39:10-04:00April 28th, 2021|Access to Care, ADAP, health care, Uncategorized|

People living with HIV know that one step in leading a healthy life is having access to life-saving medication. What do you do when access to those medications is taken away from the people who most need them? If you [...]

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Accountability Is Not Justice. We Demand More.

2021-06-04T01:49:42-04:00April 22nd, 2021|Black Lives Matter, Criminalization, racial justice, racism|

April 22, 2021: We mourn, we rage, we rest, we soldier on.This week, a jury returned a guilty verdict for the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was executed in broad daylight by police. Former cop Derek [...]

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Organizing Spotlight: Thanks to ECHO VA, a Dramatic Rollback of HIV Criminalization in Virginia

2021-04-06T16:58:25-04:00April 2nd, 2021|advocacy, Criminalization, HIV Is Not a Crime, PWN-USA regional organizing|

April 2, 2021: With Governor Ralph Northam's signature on the dotted line as of March 31, it's official: Virginia's HIV criminalization laws have been modernized and dramatically rolled back. The culmination of over two years of organizing and advocacy led by [...]

PWN Calls for Cisgender Allies in the HIV Movement to Create a Safer and Just World for Trans and Gender Diverse Communities

2021-04-01T18:46:52-04:00March 31st, 2021|Uncategorized|

March 31, 2021Dear PWN community,Today is the International Transgender Day of Visibility, and building a world where it’s safe for transgender and gender non-conforming people to live their truth has never been more important. None of us are free until [...]

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PWN’s Public Comment to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

2021-04-05T15:06:13-04:00March 19th, 2021|Uncategorized|

In March 2021, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) held a hearing requesting stakeholders provide public comment answering two questions:What are the most meaningful actions that can be taken to implement the HIV National Strategy Plan and improve implementation [...]

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It’s Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day!

2021-03-12T17:10:12-05:00March 12th, 2021|Uncategorized|

It's Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day! March 12, 2021 The day we've been counting down to since last fall is finally here: PWN's first annual Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day. [...]

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Building a Leader-full Movement: PWN Welcomes Co-Executive Directors Venita Ray and Naina Khanna

2021-03-08T17:30:35-05:00March 8th, 2021|Uncategorized|

March 8, 2021Greetings, PWN members and community,We are writing to you today with big news. Nearly thirteen years into the existence of Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN), we have transitioned to a co-directorship model. Venita Ray and Naina Khanna [...]

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Celebrate and Honor Black Women with PWN and Our Partners

2021-03-08T23:10:58-05:00March 3rd, 2021|Celebrate and Honor Black Women, Uncategorized|

PWN is thrilled to host the first-ever Celebrate and Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day this March 12, 2021! There is still time to sign on to the pledge to commit to celebrating and honoring Black women in [...]

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PWN Community in Texas and the Gulf Region: We Are Here for You

2021-02-26T18:23:44-05:00February 26th, 2021|human rights|

February 26, 2021: The disaster that has unfolded across the South and particularly in Texas over the past couple of weeks is anything but natural. It’s a catastrophe of manmade proportions—the perfect storm of climate crisis, structural racism, unchecked capitalism, [...]

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Support Texans with HIV Through the Winter Storm

2021-02-19T18:53:02-05:00February 19th, 2021|Uncategorized|

Like you, we have been horrified by the devastation wrought by the winter storm in Texas and the Gulf region, and the failure of Texas political leadership to respond. We are not confused about the root causes here - climate [...]

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Deadline Extension: Sunday, 2/21! Apply for the PWN Policy Fellowship

2021-02-17T20:45:44-05:00February 17th, 2021|Uncategorized|

Deadline Extension: Sunday, 2/21! Apply for the PWN Policy Fellowship Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN) is still accepting applications for the fifth year of our PWN Policy Fellowship, a year-long program designed to prepare and support women and trans [...]

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Help! What Do All These Executive Orders Mean to Us?

2021-02-16T23:12:43-05:00February 15th, 2021|Uncategorized|

February 8, 2021: Folks, we have a new president--and with that, we have a whole lot of new executive orders. If you got a little lost in the flurry of papers coming out of the White House, you are not [...]

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Positive Women’s Network – USA Invites Advocates in the South to Join SWARM

2021-02-12T02:41:40-05:00February 12th, 2021|advocacy|

The new Southern Women Advocacy Response Mobilization (SWARM) will be an ongoing space for HIV advocates in the South to discuss emerging issues, hear from expert speakers, and get training to maximize their advocacy February 12, 2021: Positive Women’s Network – [...]

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Virginia Senate Passes Historic Modernization of HIV Criminalization Laws

2021-02-06T20:08:56-05:00February 6th, 2021|Criminalization, HIV Is Not a Crime|

PWN is proud of the role our leaders have played in this important step in ending injustice and stigma for people living with HIV in Virginia  PWN VA State Lead Deirdre Johnson testifies before the VA Senate Judiciary Committee February [...]

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This National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Let’s Celebrate.

2021-02-17T01:03:51-05:00February 5th, 2021|Black Lives Matter, HIV Awareness Days, NBHAAD, racial justice|

February 5, 2021: As another National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day rolls around this Sunday, February 7, our inboxes will be inundated with well-meaning emails from HIV organizations and agencies highlighting, again, the racial disparities in HIV acquisition and health outcomes. [...]

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A Huge Salute to our PWN Volunteers

2021-01-29T19:44:29-05:00January 29th, 2021|Uncategorized|

January 29, 2021: When you could have been doing anything else after a very, stressful election, you chose to take up the mantle and continue to educate, engage, and mobilize voters in Georgia. Alongside our partners from Women Engaged in [...]

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Calling All Black Women Artists in the HIV Movement: Express Your Vision in PWN’s Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Art Contest!

2021-01-27T19:53:33-05:00January 27th, 2021|Uncategorized|

January 22, 2021: Are you a Black woman or person of trans experience living with HIV or involved in the HIV community? Get your creative juices flowing and enter an original piece of artwork for PWN’s inaugural Celebrate & Honor [...]

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PWN’s Memo to the Biden-Harris Administration

2021-01-25T21:06:55-05:00January 25th, 2021|election, human rights, policy agenda, Uncategorized|

Positive Women's Network - USA sent the following letter to the Biden-Harris administration.Positive Women’s Network-USA (PWN) is the only national organization truly led by and for women living with HIV (WLHIV), inclusive of women of transgender experience. Our mission is [...]

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Positive Women’s Network – USA Welcomes the Biden-Harris Administration, Urges Swift Action on Priority Issues

2021-01-20T15:20:12-05:00January 20th, 2021|election|

January 20, 2021: Today, we have a new president and vice president. While the enormous challenges their administration faces will not be resolved overnight, President Biden can begin to undo some of the grievous damage done to our nation and [...]

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Take Your Advocacy to the Next Level in 2021! Apply for the PWN Policy Fellowship

2021-01-14T23:48:39-05:00January 15th, 2021|advocacy, policy fellows|

January 15, 2021: Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN) is thrilled to launch applications for the fifth year of our PWN Policy Fellowship, a year-long program designed to prepare and support women and trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people to [...]

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Rooted. Rising. Staying the Course.

2021-01-08T21:33:59-05:00January 8th, 2021|racial justice, racism, Uncategorized|

January 8, 2021: Wednesday’s white supremacist failed coup in the U.S. Capitol was horrifying, scary, unprecedented – yet not unpredictable.The attack was not on a building. This was an attack on our people. The message of these insurrectionists, including those [...]

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PWN’s Comment on the Draft HIV National Strategic Plan 2021-2025

2021-03-03T00:23:35-05:00December 18th, 2020|National HIV/AIDS Strategy|

December 17, 2020: On December 1, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services released the draft HIV National Strategic Plan 2021-2025. Comments were due Monday, December 14. In collaboration with many of our partners, including the networks of people [...]

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This World AIDS Day, Commit to Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the Movement with PWN

2020-12-01T17:22:34-05:00December 1st, 2020|Black Lives Matter, World AIDS Day|

December 1, 2020: This World AIDS Day, we honor Black women in the HIV movement.Black women have been at the forefront of the HIV response since the earliest days of the domestic epidemic. Black women have marched, led, care-taken, stood [...]

PWN Honors Resilience on Transgender Day of Remembrance

2020-11-20T15:20:40-05:00November 20th, 2020|Trans Justice, Uncategorized|

Art by Glori Tuitt + @fwdtogether We Read Their NamesWe read the names of precious lives lostTo open our eyes to the enormous costOf bigotry, religion, ignorance, and hate,And honor those who too soon met their fate.Sisters [...]

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PWN Congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris

2020-11-09T22:23:07-05:00November 9th, 2020|Uncategorized|

November 9, 2020: Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN) congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their election by a decisive majority of total votes cast and electoral college votes in the highest turnout election in U.S. [...]

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Bruised, battered, resilient, proud, triumphant

2020-11-13T18:32:56-05:00November 6th, 2020|election, electoral organizing, Uncategorized|

November 6, 2020: We've got a lot of feelings right now.Our spirits are bruised, our anxiety high. We bear the scars of generations of trauma, the legacy of white supremacy and patriarchy. They drive us to continue to fight for [...]

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The polls have closed, but we’re not done until every vote is counted.

2020-11-04T17:20:37-05:00November 4th, 2020|election, electoral organizing|

November 4, 2020Hey PWN family, You came through! In a year of a new pandemic; of a brutal backlash to uprisings for racial justice; and in the face of so many threats to our bodily autonomy, our families, and our [...]

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We likely won’t know the final outcome of the election tomorrow night, and that’s OK.

2020-11-03T01:50:21-05:00November 3rd, 2020|election, electoral organizing|

November 2, 2020: Tomorrow night, the polls will close for the most significant election of our lives. Many of us have dedicated countless hours to making sure that every eligible voter in our community gets to have their voice heard. [...]

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Still got your mail ballot? Make sure it counts.

2020-11-01T22:20:18-05:00October 29th, 2020|election, electoral organizing|

October 29, 2020: Maybe you're like the 66 million Americans who have already voted. If so... Haven't voted yet? Perhaps you've still got that mail or absentee ballot sitting on that corner of the kitchen table where your mail hangs [...]

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People Living with HIV in the U.S.: We Are Here for You, In and Beyond the 2020 Election

2020-11-04T03:54:57-05:00October 23rd, 2020|election|

October 22, 2020Dear Community, 2020 has been a tough year. A new pandemic. Police brutality. Fires and hurricanes. A racial justice uprising and a corresponding violent response by the state and white supremacist groups. So much loss and grief. And [...]

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In Honor of the Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV, Please Volunteer with PWN to Get Out the Vote

2020-10-22T20:57:18-04:00October 22nd, 2020|National Day of Action to End Violence Against Women with HIV, Trauma, Violence|

October 22, 2020: As many of you know, PWN has hosted a Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV on October 23 since 2014. Because our staff and members are all working hard on the November [...]

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Join PWN in Celebrating and Honoring Black Women in the HIV Movement

2020-11-23T20:45:25-05:00October 1st, 2020|Uncategorized|

October 1, 2020: Black women deserve the world. At Positive Women’s Network - USA (PWN), this is central to everything we do, from the policies we advocate for to the way we do our work. And we think it’s high [...]

Organizing Spotlight: NC “Queens for Change” Won’t Be Stopped

2020-10-01T00:32:36-04:00September 30th, 2020|coronavirus, covid-19, election, electoral organizing|

September 30, 2020: With so much going on in our country today, it can be easy to forget that the most crucial election of our lifetime is only a little over a month away. Civil uprisings are continuing to happen [...]

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PWN Condemns the Trump Administration’s Latest Attacks on Reproductive Justice

2020-09-18T16:05:08-04:00September 18th, 2020|Uncategorized|

PWN Condemns the Trump Administration's Latest Attacks on Reproductive Justice Positive Women’s Network-USA (PWN) unequivocally condemns the Trump administration’s newly reported campaign of terror against immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). September 18, 2020: On [...]

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Organizing Spotlight: Shannon Robinson Is Fighting for Racial Justice in Rural Colorado

2020-08-31T15:18:46-04:00August 31st, 2020|advocacy, Leadership stories, racial justice, racism|

August 31, 2020: Shannon Robinson is one busy woman. She has been organizing around the elections in Colorado with PWN since the 2018 midterms--work she's continuing for the 2020 elections. But her organizing kicked into high gear at the end of [...]

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Organizing Spotlight: Digital Organizing to Get Out the Vote for Houston Runoff Elections

2020-07-27T21:58:27-04:00July 27th, 2020|covid-19, election, electoral organizing, Uncategorized|

July 27, 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things in our day-to-day lives. The response to the pandemic by many elected officials in America, from state houses to the White House, has been dismal. But elections are [...]

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Organizing Spotlight: PWNers in Atlanta Ensure Voter Access for Georgians, Despite Voter Suppression

2020-07-01T19:24:39-04:00July 1st, 2020|coronavirus, electoral organizing, Uncategorized|

July 1, 2020: You stand in the rain. You stand in the heat. The line is long. You are hungry and thirsty. You are frustrated. You are standing too close for comfort to someone in the midst of the COVID-19 [...]

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A Win for Protecting the Right to a Safe, Legal Abortion–and a Loss in the Global Fight Against AIDS

2020-06-30T18:46:03-04:00June 30th, 2020|Access to Care, advocacy, Criminalization, HIV epidemic, human rights, reproductive justice, sex work|

June 30, 2020: Yesterday, the Supreme Court struck down yet another attempt to limit abortion care access in the landmark case, June Medical Services v. Russo. This latest case is a part of a larger, intentional effort to prevent those [...]

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Announcing the Health Not Prisons Collective

2020-06-18T19:31:00-04:00June 18th, 2020|coronavirus, covid-19, Criminalization, HIV Is Not a Crime|

For Immediate ReleaseContact: Naina Khanna, Positive Women’s Network - USA, naina(at)pwn-usa.org As Calls for Justice Echo Around the United States, National Groups Led by Most-Policed Communities Affected by HIV and COVID-19 Join in Partnership The Health Not Prisons Collective Vows to [...]

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PWN Applauds Supreme Court Ruling Protecting LGBTQ People from Employment Discrimination

2020-06-15T19:57:13-04:00June 15th, 2020|gender justice, LGBTQ rights|

June 15, 2020: It’s time to celebrate!  Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that Tile VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, also prohibits discrimination on [...]

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PWN Honors Long-Term Survivors and Grieves Those Who Should Have Made It

2020-06-04T22:59:32-04:00June 5th, 2020|Long Term Survivors Day|

June 5, 2020 Today marks another HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day (#HLTSAD). Even as we celebrate the longevity, resilience, and incredible achievements of so many long-term survivors--many of whom never expected to live more than a few months at the [...]

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8 minutes, 46 seconds: A love letter to our people

2020-06-02T17:26:41-04:00June 2nd, 2020|Black Lives Matter|

*** Content warnings: anti-Black racism, violence, pain, killing of Black people by the police, lack of accountability by the State, KKK *** June 2, 2020PWN family,We love you.We have been rocked and our hearts are broken by the footage of George [...]

Organizing Spotlight: PWN Pennsylvania Works to Get Out the Vote-by-Mail

2020-06-01T17:42:02-04:00June 1st, 2020|election, electoral organizing, Uncategorized|

June 1, 2020: PWN Pennsylvania has been active in their community for years. Since 2018, they have been registering new voters, educating their community about elections and voter rights, and mobilizing the voters they've registered and engaged with to get [...]

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