Quinn Tivey, a 35-year-old officer for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF), writes about continuing the late actress’s legacy of support for those with HIV and AIDS. Quinn Taylor is the grandson of Elizabeth Taylor.
“My grandmother founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation thirty years ago to aid those who already had HIV and AIDS as well as those who were at risk. Despite the fact that the fight against HIV/AIDS is a never-ending conflict, I’m proud to see ETAF carry on her legacy by educating policymakers, increasing public awareness, busting myths, and eradicating stigma and fear. This effort would also be appreciated by Grandma without a doubt. ”.
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation’s “HIV Is Not A Crime” program, run in collaboration with Gilead Sciences, aims to update the criminal laws and sanctions that currently target people with HIV.
By encouraging stigma and discrimination, these unjust laws act as barriers to advancement. HIV-positive people can become non-transmittable thanks to undetectable viral levels with the right medications.
Despite this, people with HIV are accused of crimes and treated like criminals in more than 30 states. Furthermore, in most HIV-related proceedings in these states, conviction is not required in the absence of proof of transmission or malicious intent.
Criminal HIV laws disproportionately affect women, including transgender women, BIPOCs (Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color), low-income communities, sex workers, and migrants. Black men make up about half of all new HIV infections but are six times more likely than white men to be behind bars.
Grandma would have been ecstatic about the work being done through the “HIV Is Not A Crime” project. Grandma led a valiant and exciting life, always standing up for what she believed in.
She would never give in to pressure and would never accept the status quo if it didn’t feel right. Old laws that were enacted decades ago out of fear and stigmatization of HIV-positive people have not been updated to take into account modern science.
