A Decarceral Response to HIV Criminalization in the Black LGBTQIA+ Community.

Abstract

HIV criminalization statutes continue to disproportionately impact Black queer and trans individuals, particularly Black transgender and gender-expansive people and sex workers, and have historically served as a way to inequitably punish communities for a disease that affects them because of inequitable systems rooted in the legacy of slavery. To achieve the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2030 goals for Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US, it is essential to take bold steps to decriminalize HIV and interrogate the role of criminalization in reinforcing stigma, exacerbating the social determinants of health, and further disenfranchising marginalized communities. Through the analysis of the theory of racial capitalism, we aim to make the argument for complete decriminalization of HIV as a small step in the ultimate goal of prison abolition and decarceration of all peoples. We advocate rejecting efforts aiming to modernize statutes that further concretize the punitive role prisons play in a capitalist society and systematically revoke HIV-affected communities' right to freedom. Multilevel policies must address the racialized nature of HIV criminalization. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2025;115(7):1157-1165. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308110).