About Us

Our Mission

To educate our community about the effects of HIV criminalization laws in Louisiana,and to build a coalition of advocates to fight for legislative reform that better protects the dignity and freedoms of people living with HIV

Vision

We share the vision of a future where the needs and voices of people who are living with HIV are centered in policy making, and where all people regardless of HIV status have access to accurate, up-to-date scientific information about HIV care and prevention in order to make informed choices about their health.

Who We Are

The Louisiana Coalition on Criminalization and Health (LCCH) is a statewide group of People Living With HIV (PLWH), advocates, allies, public health professionals and clinicians who are fighting to end the harmful impacts of laws that stigmatize people who are living with HIV in our community.

Our coalition is led by a steering committee of PLWH and allies alongside our membership. Decisions are made collaboratively with our voting members.

The LCCH Speakers Bureau is a cohort of PLWH and allies who were trained during the 2025 legislative session to engage with the community and advocate for modernization of Louisiana’s HIV criminalization statute. The Speakers Bureau serve as faces of our coalition and are essential to LCCH’s movement.

2024 Legislative Session

HIV Modernization bill HB: 436

House Rep. Aimee Freeman

During the regular 2024 Legislative Session, LCCH partnered with Rep. Aimee Freeman in an attempt to Modernize our current HIV Criminal law.

Our goal was to bring our existing HIV “exposure” law into closer alignment with modern science, and to narrow the definitions of “criminal intent” to limit the law’s ability to be used coercively against People Living With HIV.

Initial discussions about the bill in the House Criminal Justice Committee made it clear that additional education about HIV prevention, transmission, and treatment were needed in order for the legislators to have an adequately informed discussion about changing the law.

In light of this, LCCH opted to voluntarily defer the bill, and are now strategizing how to most effectively educate members of the House and Senate Criminal Justice Committees before attempting to reintroduce future legislation.

Join us at our monthly virtual Legislative Outreach Subcommittee Meetings at 11:00am CT every 1st Tuesday of the month to learn how you can get involved in developing our legislative strategy!

Please email our Statewide Coordinator at coordinator@lacch.org for more information.