Asylum, Intersectionality, and AIDS: Women with HIV as a Persecuted Social Group

This article explores the tension between the United States immigration policy, which generally excludes those who are HIV/AIDS positive, and the obligations of the US under international refugee law. The author argues that women with HIV/AIDS who are facing persecution in their own countries would constitute a particular social group under the definition of refugee in US law. The article also examines many of the negative perceptions regarding individuals with HIV and argues that focusing on this debate through the lens of asylum would allow for the inclusion of positive rights and freedoms. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Reproductive Rights - HIV/AIDS, International]