ACLU Reveals Massive Civil Rights Violations Against People With HIV/AIDS

[Selwynn]

HIV & Civil Rights
­A Report from the Frontlines of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

By Tamara Lange
Staff Attorney
ACLU AIDS Project

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Discrimination adds to the daily struggles faced by the growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States – people who are predominantly poor and disproportionately African American or Latino/a. Almost every agency told us that the biggest problems facing their clients involve meeting basic needs – coping with poverty, hunger, illiteracy, inadequate medical care, lack of transportation, and homelessness. In addition to those basic needs issues, people with HIV face a series of critical civil rights problems. Individuals living with HIV/AIDS need to know their rights and need the resources to advocate for themselves when their rights are threatened. They also need national legal organizations like the ACLU AIDS Project to enforce their civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, public education and legislative advocacy.

This report provides a starting point for discussions among local providers and national advocacy groups. Our findings are based on interviews with CBOs and their colleagues on the frontlines of the epidemic. In the next section, we outline the problems that need immediate attention. The last section of the report describes how we plan to address some of the most pressing civil rights issues facing people living with HIV/AIDS.

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http://www.aclu.org/HIVAIDS/HIVAIDS.cfm?ID=14363&c=258

The problems discussed in the report are:
-Stigma and Fear of Disclosure
-Privacy
-Names Reporting, Criminal Prosecutions and Mandatory Testing
-Discrimination
-Medical Care in Rural Areas
-HIV in Prisons and Jails
-Immigration and Language Barriers
-Censoring Education and Prevention

Followed by a lengthy summary of suggestions for positive change. Something everyone should read, in my opinion.