HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day

February 28 is HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day, which was first observed in 2022 by the Sero Project in collaboration with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. This awareness day is an opportunity to amplify the voices of those who have been criminalized based on their HIV status.

Living with HIV is not a crime, but in more than 30 U.S. states, people are being imprisoned due to their HIV status. HIV criminalization laws consist of using a person’s positive HIV status in a criminal prosecution, increasing charges or punishments because the person has HIV.

Click here to read about HIV criminalization on POZ.com.