Mississippians are being trained on how they can effectively advocate for policy changes that can protect those who are already living with HIV or are at risk. Mississippi has one of the highest rates of HIV in the nation according to World Population Review, and black residents are disproportionately at risk. Carl Baloney, Vice President of AIDS United, says Mississippi is one of several states with laws criminalizing HIV. He says if someone doesn't disclose their diagnosis to a sexual partner they can be charged with a felony.
“It’s not dependent on actual transmission. These laws are really rooted in stigma and hate and not in science,” says Baloney. “A person living with HIV who is on medication are known as undetectable. If you’re undetectable, you’re untransmittable, you can’t pass along the virus to someone else. So these criminalization laws really don’t make anyone safer.”
Baloney says their organization also supports policies that make it easier for people living with HIV to afford housing and receive medical help.
Among the people attending the conference is Jackson resident L. S. Jones. They were diagnosed with HIV in 2014 and say medical treatments have allowed them to live a much healthier life. But, they say the stigma is still present.
“So today I live a full life,” says Jones. “I live as normal a life as anyone else. A normal healthy person’s CD4 (a type of white blood cell count) is 500-2000. My CD4 hovers around 1,100 to 1,200 every time I get tested which means I’m as healthy as, if not healthier, than some other people who are not living with HIV.”
A recent court ruling in Texas that allows employers to deny coverage for the HIV-preventing drug PREP has also caused alarm from activists in Mississippi. They say the HIV epidemic is a real concern and the state needs to continue protecting those at risk.
