Positive Women’s Network – USA Mourns and Condemns the HIV-Related Murder of a Texas Woman
Contact: Olivia Ford, PWN-USA – Brooklyn, NY – [email protected] – 347.553.5174
Venita Ray – Houston, TX – [email protected] – 713.299.6123
Marsha Jones, The Afiya Center – Dallas, TX – [email protected] – 214.753.3777
June 18, 2014 – Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN-USA), a national membership body of women living with HIV, is shocked and horrified to learn of media reports that a young woman in Texas was
brutally murdered, allegedly as a result of her HIV status.
According to
media coverage, Justin Welch strangled 30-year-old Elisha Henson “when he learned she had HIV after she gave him oral sex.”
“This news is sickening, devastating, and heartbreaking to women living with HIV,” says PWN-USA Executive Director Naina Khanna. “Not only does it reveal the lack of value placed on the lives of women with HIV; it also shows that ignorance and misinformation about how HIV is and is not transmitted are quite literally deadly. The risk of a man acquiring HIV by receiving oral sex from a woman is so vanishingly low as to be virtually impossible.”
This is the second brutal murder of a woman due to HIV status within two years in Texas that has made mainstream media headlines. In September 2012, following the
heinous murder of Dallas resident Cicely Bolden, women leaders living with HIV and our allies
mourned Bolden’s death and
condemned media coverage that cast her consensual sex partner, who was her murderer,
as a victim.
“This is a travesty,” says Venita Ray, an advocate and woman living with HIV in Houston, Texas. “After Cicely’s murder, women in Texas were already afraid to disclose their HIV status. Now this? Stigma is literally killing women, more than 30 years into this epidemic.”
Although these two cases have received a high level of media attention, we know that
violence in the lives of women with HIV is all too common. A survey conducted by PWN-USA last year found that 72% of respondents were survivors of intimate partner violence. Large studies have shown that women living with HIV suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at rates five times higher than the general population of U.S. women, and experience various types of lifetime abuse at two to six times the national rate.
Our hearts and our prayers go out to Elisha Henson’s loved ones. We stand with Elisha and all women living with HIV who face stigma, discrimination, and violence in its many forms. But equally important, we fight for solutions. If Justin Welch had known it was impossible to acquire HIV by receiving oral sex, would he have killed? Comprehensive, accurate sex education is desperately needed, reduces risk of unwanted pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted infections — and as we see in this instance, can literally save lives.
Ignorance is not bliss. It is deadly. We must do better.
On behalf of women living with HIV who face violence and even death due to misinformation and ignorance, PWN-USA recommends the following calls to action:
– Support the
repeal of laws that criminalize HIV status: These laws are frequently based on outdated understandings and unfounded fears of HIV transmission risks. They do not prevent HIV transmission or promote public health, but instead foster environments of hostility and brutality toward people living with HIV.
– Pressure local health systems and law enforcement to implement
recent White House recommendations to
address violence and trauma in the lives of women living with HIV.
– Based on
these same federal recommendations, ensure that
violence and murder based on HIV status are prosecuted as hate crimes.
– Encourage
responsible reporting by the media of Elisha Henson’s tragic murder and other cases involving people living with HIV: Coverage should be based on up-to-date knowledge of HIV transmission, must not portray people with HIV as predatory or irresponsible, and must uphold the human rights and dignity of people living with HIV.
We grieve for Elisha, and we will fight until violence in the lives of all women with HIV comes to an end.
Read a statement in response to Elisha Henson’s murder by the International Community of Women living with HIV (ICW) and the North America (ICWNA) chapter
I am so tired of hearing about women getting hurt and losing their life, because their partners are not taking responsible for their own health. When will people stop blaming and shaming people just because they happen to be living with a virus. This small bug is causing people to use it as an reason to control, misuse, and abuse women and girls. As a women living with HIV for 22 years i plan to speak out share the correct information and be the voice in Ohio and the world until this injustice against people living with HIV/AIDS is stopped. To my sister affected and infected by this virus, this bug, stay strong and let no one make you feel less than. GOD NEVER MAKE A MISTAKE , HE ONLY MAKE DIAMONDS. WE ARE ALL DIAMONDS IS THE MAKING. Much peace and love.
My heart ache with sadness that someone could take her life and not give it a second thought that she was someone child, mother, daughter more importantly, she was a human being and her life had value. Philly PWN-USA will hold this close to our hearts and will continue to fight, advocate for women rights and to remove the misinformation of how HIV is transmitted. We have so much more work to do to remove the ignorance and stigma that still much alive in our communities.
Thank you. Elisha was very loved regardless of her sickness. She has two amazing boys who love her very much. This was a tragic loss to her family and friends. We hope and pray for some closer soon. Thanks Philly PWN-USA and keep getting the word out like you do.
Thank you so much for your comment; we are so very sorry for the loss of Elisha from the lives of those who loved her.
Thank you so much for responding Laura. I live in Houston and want you and Elisha’s family to know that we are saddened by your loss and grieve for you all. We are in the process of showing our support by organizing a response to th emedia and authorities in Angelina County. I would love to hear from you to let us know if there is anything we can do to support you all. I can be reached at 713-299-6123. I would be happy to talk you anytime. Again, please accept my condolences for your loss.
[…] of stigma and ignorance – a reality made brutally clear yet again a few weeks ago with the “sickening, devastating and heartbreaking” murder of Elisha Henson in Texas because of her HIV status. However, Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN-USA) views […]
I live in Texas and have a website that was created in for our support group Hope In Volumes which consists of those impacted and affected by the virus. I send my condolences for your loss and pray your heart finds comfort. Our website is http://www.hopeinvolumes.org. And another great one would be http://www.jw.org “dealing with the death of a loved one.” Take care.