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WRI 2024 — The Role of Policy in Access to HIV Research and Services Among Women Living with and Vulnerable to HIV

Submitted on Sep 12, 2024
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The Well Project and the WRI use the term "women" to describe anyone who identifies as such across the gender spectrum.

On March 21-24, 2024, The Women's Research Initiative on HIV/AIDS (WRI), a program of The Well Project, convened a meeting focused on The Role of Policy in Access to HIV Research and Services Among Women Living with and Vulnerable to HIV. The meeting sought to examine the ways that law and policy affect health outcomes for women living with and vulnerable to HIV.

 

 

While HIV research and service provision in the US have always been affected by the policy environment, recent legal and policy changes are poised to have a particularly negative impact on women living with and vulnerable to HIV. This year's WRI convening brought together 35 multidisciplinary, multisectoral key stakeholders (see below) to address critical aspects and potential implications for women living with and vulnerable to HIV of laws and policies related to HIV criminalization; abortion; gender-affirming care; and affirmative action/diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming – and to make recommendations for mitigating their injurious effects. To learn more, please see the WRI 2024 Issue Brief: Implications of Federal and State Policy on HIV Research and Services for Women Living with and Vulnerable to HIV. Click here to view more photos from WRI 2024.

 

 

"Every one of these issues is rooted in surveillance and control, limiting who gets to decide what happens to their body and what options they have for their future." – Tiommi Luckett, Transgender Law Center

The combined impact of HIV criminalization, abortion restrictions, bans on gender-affirming care, and the elimination of affirmative action/DEI programming will have profound consequences for access to HIV and sexual and reproductive healthcare services and HIV research among women living with and vulnerable to HIV across the gender spectrum. They will also limit the ability of providers and scientists to conduct programming and research to advance the field. As many of these policies are already in effect, it is crucial to raise awareness about their potential implications and undertake collaborative efforts to mitigate their negative effects and optimize HIV research and care.

 

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Group of WRI 2024 participants.

WRI 2024 Meeting Participants

Allison Agwu, MD, ScM

Johns Hopkins University
Nancie Archin, PhD*

University of North Carolina
Judith Auerbach, PhD*

University of California San Francisco
Dawn Averitt*

The Well Project and WRI
Jacqueline Ayers, JD

Planned Parenthood
Kellan Baker, PhD, MPH, MA

Whitman Walker
Cecilia Chung

Transgender Law Center
Jenna Conley

The Well Project
Lindsey Dawson, MPP

KFF
Karine Dubé, DrPH

UCSD School of Medicine
Nada Fadul, MD

University of Nebraska Medical Center
Olivia G. Ford

The Well Project
Waru Gichane, PhD, MSPH

University of California San Francisco
Kaye Hayes, MPA

Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy
Connie Johnson, MA

Growing into Greatness
Jennifer Kates, PhD*

Kaiser Family Foundation
Kamaria Laffrey

The Sero Project
Aryah Lester

Transgender Strategy Center
Tiommi Luckett, AA

Transgender Law Center
Leslie Marshall

NIH Office of AIDS Research
Krista Martel

The Well Project
Marnina Miller, AA

PWN-USA
Shani Mandisa Moore-O'Neal, JD

Center for HIV Law and Policy
Amaya Perez-Brumer, PhD

University of Toronto
Bridgette Picou, LVN

The Well Project
Tonia Poteat, PhD, MPH, PA-C

University of North Carolina
Catalina Ramirez, MPH, MHA

Universty of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Laramie Smith, PhD

University of California San Diego
Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH

Harvard Kennedy School
Celeste Watkins-Hayes

University of Michigan
Andrea Weddle, MSW*

HIV Medicine Association
Helen Zimba, BS

The Afiya Center

 

*2024 WRI Advisory Board Member

The WRI 2024 convening received sponsorship support or grants from Gilead, Merck, and ViiV Healthcare.

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Members of The Well Project community at USCHA 2022.

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