Katrina Haslip
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Katrina Haslip | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 Niagara Falls, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 2, 1992 (aged 32–33) New York City, U.S. |
| Known for | AIDS activist and educator, formerly incarcerated activist |
Katrina Haslip was an AIDS educator and activist who played an essential role in the campaign to change the criteria for government recognition of AIDS to include the symptoms uniquely experienced by women. She co-founded AIDS Committee for Education (ACE) for women incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women and its counterpart ACE-OUT for women leaving prison.[1]
Haslip was born in 1959 in Niagara Falls, New York and was one of 12 children. She was Muslim.[1]
Incarceration
In 1985 Haslip was incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Center for a pickpocketing conviction. During her incarceration she learned she was HIV positive though she did not know the source of the infection – Haslip was both a sex worker and the recipient of a blood transfusion prior to her incarceration.[2] While incarcerated Haslip served as a law librarian and became well known by other incarcerated women.[1] After observing terrible conditions for HIV positive women inside the prison – including segregation of HIV positive women to a decrepit infirmary unit – and the high degree of misinformation surrounding AIDS, Haslip co-founded ACE inside the prison in 1988 with other incarcerated women including Kathy Boudin and Judith Alice Clark to provide accurate education on living with HIV.[3][4]