LICENTIA COGITATIONIS

Introduction This is an ethnographic record of the founding of Molecular HIV Surveillance (MHS), Rapid Cluster Detection and Response program of **Department of Health, written as an email reply to my initial correspondence, which I have also included for reference. The author happens to be an old friend of mine, whom I did not know was responsible for the development of this program; but after learning about her integral role in operationalizing the call to action by CDC, I reached out immediately. Our historical relationship afforded me an opportunity to be more familiar about the issue and inquires I have about MHS, which prompted the following narrative. From the source email: I did the  outreach to laboratories  to try to get them to voluntarily submit the genotypes to us (since they weren’t legally reportable yet so, technically, they did not have to send us anything).  We had legislation working its way through  so we knew (and hoped) it would just be a ma...

My Story The following text is from a story I shared during community development events to cultivate a donorship for the nonprofit organization where I once worked. I hope that by reading this deeply personal account, you will empathize the unique situation in which those living with HIV find themselves; especially, considering the power of fear and stigma, shame, and self-denial to steal the hearts and minds of all of us when we first learn of an HIV diagnosis.  In imagining the emotionality and contextuality of my story, brainstorm ways to show your support as an ally of stigma-reduction and HIV decriminalization; and then write a letter from your own perspective to legislators before this Monday's (2/1/20) Virginia Senate hearing. If you are reading this past the time to advocate for Senate Bill 1138, then consider ways in which you have (re)produced HIV-related stigma in the world and how you might unlearn those ideas and ideals as a function of your solidarity with ...

My Public Comments on SB 1183: Repeal of HIV Criminalization Laws  https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+SB1138 SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Sexually transmitted infections; infected sexual battery; repeal.  Repeals the crime of infected sexual battery. The bill also repeals the crime of donating or selling blood, body fluids, organs, and tissues by persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus and the provisions regarding the testing of certain persons for human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B or C viruses. The bill contains technical amendments. The criminalization of HIV transmission, exposure and non-disclosure has become a critical preventive strategy to end the HIV epidemic, target interventions to reduce HIV-specific health disparities, ameliorate the effects of stigma and racial inequity in VA law, and thus advance the interests of public health, the Commonwealth   targeted interventions in public health aimed at reducing stigma and racial ineq...