National Resource Center on Women and AIDS Policy
In 1987, the Center became the first national feminist organization to address the self-defined needs of women living with HIV/AIDS.  The Center has been a leader in addressing the full range of issues facing women in the epidemic and in developing research, policy analyses, programs, and advocacy strategies to bring women’s voices to public policy debates. 

Read about how HIV/AIDS is a women's epidemic worldwide.

The Center:

• Convened seminars, community meetings, and Congressional briefings;
• Made presentations at conferences nationwide;
• Developed policy recommendations and produced reports;
• Wrote the first federal legislation – sponsored by Congresswoman Connie Morella [R-MD] – requiring federal support for microbicide research;
• Co-sponsored, with the NCSL Women’s Legislative Network, the first-ever session on women and HIV/AIDS at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) annual meeting
• Conducted Women Engaging Globally town hall meetings (with the League of Women Voters and WEDO) on the women’s HIV/AIDS epidemic – in Cleveland, Little Rock, and Charleston, SC
• Conducted the Metro DC Collaborative for Women with HIV/AIDS -- a groundbreaking five year research and demonstration project designed to engage women living with HIV/AIDS in policy advocacy.

The Center’s policy analyses include:

• Principles for woman-centered HIV prevention
• The impact on women of the official definitions of AIDS
• Women’s access to HIV/AIDS medications and gynecological care
• Impact of Medicaid managed care on women living with HIV/AIDS
• Access to Ryan White CARE Act programs
• Mandatory HIV testing. Related publications:
  • HIV Surveillance, Reporting and Testing Policies: Controversial Issues for Women (1995) [PDF 1.4MB]
  • Unjust Punishments: Mandatory HIV Testing of Women Sex Workers and Pregnant Women (1992) by Lisa Bowleg. [PDF 4.3MB]
  • More Harm Than Help: The Ramifications for Rape Survivors of Mandatory HIV Testing of Rapists (1991) by Lisa Bowleg and Kathleen D. Stoll. [PDF 3.8]
• HIV/AIDS and young women and older women
• Meeting the housing needs of women living with HIV/AIDS and their children
• Addressing domestic violence
• Meeting the needs of women ex-offenders
• "Fighting for Our Lives”:  Women Confronting AIDS is the Center’s award winning 30 minute video, produced in 1990 but still relevant today, that portrays the strengths and strategies of women of color in several communities in the USA – who have shaped programs for women living with HIV/AIDS. To order a copy, please contact us.