Fall 2026 Dispatch
October 30, 2026
The Health Not Prisons Collective is an intersectional national initiative to advance HIV decriminalization launched in 2020 by Counter Narrative Project (CNP), Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN), Sero Project, Transgender Law Center (TLC), and the U.S. Caucus of People Living with HIV (the HIV Caucus) — longtime collaborators led by, and accountable to, communities most affected by HIV criminalization in the United States.
The Health Not Prisons Dispatch is a quarterly bulletin highlighting recent developments relevant to criminalization and policing of people living with HIV in the United States, along with upcoming events, relevant resources, and opportunities to get involved. For more information, email Elena Ferguson at hnp(at)pwn-usa.org.
🖊️ Letter From The Editor 🖊️
Greetings readers,
We’re back and we’ve had a busy summer! Don’t worry, we’re still here to bring you all the latest HIV decriminalization updates.
We find ourselves on the precipice of another potentially life-altering election (anyone else tired of living through unprecedented times? ). One in which trans and gender diverse people continue to be scapegoated, and voter suppression is only increasing. It may not be explicitly, but make no mistake, HIV decriminalization is on the ballot this election season. Who we vote into office on November 3rd will determine if more cities, states, and the federal government invest in the care, safety, and health of people living with HIV or if they will invest in more criminalization, policing, and the kidnapping of our neighbors.
🗞️ National Updates 🗞️
If you haven’t already, please make a plan to vote and do some research on any election rules your state may have and relevant candidates. As Mariame Kaba says, “Hope is a Disclipline,” and I’m hoping at least some of these updates bring you a little more hope in yourselves, each other, and what our society could be when we stand in solidarity with one another and work towards a common goal. This is me signing off for now, hopefully by the next time you receive this newsletter in your inbox, we will be closer to building the world we want to live in.
Sincerely,
Elena Ferguson
In the last edition of the HNP Dispatch, we highlighted the Trump Administration’s proposed public charge rule. That rule has now gone into effect and will drastically change how immigration officials assess whether certain immigrants are likely to become a “public charge.” A new study led by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health and the University of South Carolina highlights how the Trump Administration's changes to the 2018 public charge rule may have contributed to an increase in HIV transmissions among Latine folks in counties that chose to formally partner with Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). This highlights one of the many ways that anti-immigrant policies deter people from seeking HIV testing, treatment, and prevention opportunities. This chilling effect will likely get worse as ICE kidnappings of our neighbors have only increased.
In June 2026, Lambda Legal and their partners filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to block the use of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds from being used for gender-affirming care. The funding restrictions are so expansive that they could block providers from being able to use the person’s name or pronouns. Effectively, these discriminatory provisions would block Ryan White providers from being able to treat trans patients with basic respect and human dignity. Through the Ryan White Program, hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV are able to receive the life-saving treatment that they need. In September, a bench trial took place on the case and Lambda Legal is awaiting a decision. You can learn more about the case at this link.
📢 HNP Partner Organization Spotlight 📢
This quarter’s organizational spotlight goes out to all of our HNP partners! All partners spent their summer traveling across the country presenting at a variety of conferences. Partners presented on a variety of topics including the intersections of pregnancy and HIV criminalization, the need for movement lawyers in the fight to end HIV criminalization, and navigating the fight to end HIV criminalization amidst our current political reality. These are just some of the places you could’ve caught HNP conferences over the summer!
Counter Narrative Project: National Association of Black Journalists in Atlanta, GA; Saving Ourselves Symposium in Atlanta, GA
Positive Women’s Network-USA (PWN-USA): Let’s Talk About Sex Conference in Chicago, IL; Equality Federation Leadership Conference in Baltimore, MD; Building Trans Futures in Minneapolis, MN
Sero Project: Saving Ourselves Symposium in Atlanta, GA; Equality Federation Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Maryland
Transgender Law Center: Building Trans Futures in Minneapolis, MN; Lavender Law Conference in Chicago IL; International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus: Equality Federation Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Maryland; Lavender Law Conference in Chicago IL
Special shoutout to staff members at the Transgender Law Center and the Caucus! Not only did they help host amazing conferences (Building Trans Power and Equality Federation Leadership Conference, respectively), they also ensured that HNP was in the room at these pivotal conferences. It is no coincidence that when given the resources and curatorial power, HNP partners make sure that the perspectives of people living with HIV are uplifted and prioritized!
Members of a few HNP Partner Organizations at
USCHA 2026!
In more recent conference news, HNP partners had a big presence at the United States Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA), one of the largest, annual HIV conferences in the country. All together, HNP partners were a part of 41 combined workshops, institutes, plenary sessions, and iPosters. Several HNP partners also either attended or spoke at the #SaveHIVFunding Campaign’s Celebration of Life. The mock funeral procession was designed to draw attention to the urgent need for people living with HIV in the U.S. and abroad to have access to healthcare and housing. In addition, ahead of the conference, the U.S. PLHIV Caucus hosted a strategy session for the steering committee members to vision for the future.
🔎 Decriminalization Efforts at the State Level 🔍
All transgender women across the globe deserve to grow old and live rich, affirming lives. However, the life expectancy of trans women in Latin America is 35 years. One trans woman living with HIV, Erika Castellanos, has outlived that statistic, and is now doing advocacy work to ensure that trans women globally can do the same. You can read her profile in The Guardian here.
Erika Castellanos, Photo: Gate
🌎 Global News 🌎
With the conclusion of many legislative sessions in the spring, here’s a recap of the bills we tracked. In 2026, we tracked 20 pieces of legislation (including one federal Congressional resolution) across 11 states. Here a few trends that we saw:
17 bills were supportive, 3 bills were negative
For one bill (Pennsylvania’s SB45), HNP partners, PWN and the Sero Project, worked with the Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) to help nuance the narrative. We celebrated the removal of the discriminatory felony sentence enhancement for sex workers living with HIV. However, we also condemn the ways in which SB45 further criminalizes sex workers and conflates trafficking with sex work. You can read more about some of the nuances in this legislation in the open letter drafted by PWN-USA, Sero, and CHLP.
12 HIV criminalization bills, 8 sex work criminalization bills
We have another special shout out, this time to the Louisiana Coalition on Criminalization & Health (LCCH) on the much-deserved victory in the passage of HB 808. The bill narrows the state's HIV exposure law by limiting prosecutions to conduct that poses a substantial likelihood of transmission and creates new protections for people living with HIV. Though Louisianans living with HIV still can be criminalized under the HIV exposure law, this is certainly a step in the right direction and showcases what can happen through sustained community-led advocacy!
With many legislative sessions starting up in 2027, HNP will once again be re-launching our Legislative Session Bill Tracker. We maintain a list of the bills we’re watching this year that impact HIV and sex work criminalization. If you or the state HIV decriminalization coalition that you are a part of are pushing any pieces of relevant legislation, please reach out to me (elena@pwn-usa.org) and I can add it to our tracker.
In legal news, the case that challenges Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution law, OutMemphis v. Lee, has survived a motion to dismiss the case. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee has allowed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim to proceed, recognizing that the aggravated prostitution law may constitute unlawful disability discrimination. Though the case is far from over, this is a significant next step in the litigation.
The Williams Institute has been instrumental in providing comprehensive research around HIV criminalization across the country. Check out their latest report on the experiences of trans Memphians within the criminal legal system. This report is a qualitative successor to the Williams Institute's initial 2024 report on the impact of HIV criminalization in Tennessee.
📚 Resources from the Field 📚
💻 Watch/Listen
With the increasing surveillance and militarization of our streets, it’s even more important for folks to understand their rights, particularly when it comes to speaking with cops. For more information on best practices while speaking with cops, check out the latest episode from the Strict Scrutiny podcast.
There are 5 states that may require registration on a Sex Offense Registry (SOR) as part of the punishment for a conviction under HIV-specific laws. You can learn more about these laws and realities of the experience of people living with HIV who are subjected to them, in the latest episode of Raif Derrazi’s podcast, featuring the Williams Institute’s Nathan Cisneros.
📖 Read
People in the HIV movement are carrying so much grief, anger, fear, and exhaustion. Abolitionist Kelly Hayes presents strategies for how to create spaces of collective care, reflection, and belonging in her new toolkit, The Understory Toolkit.
In November, HIV decriminalization advocates will host the first-ever Advocacy Day at the Ohio Statehouse. To learn more about how advocates got to this place, you can check out the latest in The Buckeye Flame.
