HIV in the transgender community

Transgender people in our society are also a population that are at a high risk for health problems. I will discuss how a high population of transgender individuals have to engage in survival sex. I will also focus on risky prostitution and sex work throughout the world in the transgender community. The high risk and percentage of HIV is growing within the community due to prostitution. I will also discuss further on how discrimination leads to these acts due to being denied employment and poverty.

The difficulties of meeting basic needs such as finding a job, housing and healthcare are due to others hating against them. Stigma and discrimination are faced on a community level and global. Society feels as though trans people are a threat and do not demonstrate the patriarchal idea of the “norm”. With that being said, many people are not comfortable and do not understand the condition that trans people are in so they turn them down in the workplace. According to The Fair Housing Act , discrimination because a person fails to confirm gender stereotypes is sex discrimination under federal civil right law. These laws protect sale of housing or condominiums and rental housing on a private market. Still, there is no national housing law that prohibits discrimination.

According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), transgender people are four times as likely to have an income under $10,000 and they are twice as likely to be unemployed as the typical person. More than 90% of trans people have either been denied employment , harassed or have gotten fired due to being that they are this has led many to not being able to turn to regular employment for income. Economically disadvantaged transgender people are forced to turn to homelessness and eventually engage in unprotected survival sex.

Survival sex is a global and life threatening issue for those who have to survive on the street. As a consequence of vulnerability to violence within communities, a large percentage of runaway or abandoned youth are transgender, lesbian, bisexual and gay. Pimps recruit those who are transgender due to the fact that they know it is easy to maintain control by manipulating them into believing that the pimp accepts them. Surgery to transform cost thousands of dollars. It is also expensive to receive and maintain hormone medication and therapy, about 250 dollars a month starting off.

According to the 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report, transgender people are more likely to experience violence in their home, on the street, and especially in health care settings. Not trusting the health care system is an issue that can lead to not being able to get the health treatment needed when contracting HIV, STDs or even cancer that many trans people get. In a report from the article Injustice at every turn, 50% of trans people reported having to inform their doctor on transgender care. Even worse, 28% have postponed doctor visits when they were sick or injured due to not being able to find a health provider they can be comfortable with.

Transgender discrimination and stigma is not only in the United States but also all over the globe. Our culture differs in the treatment of accepting identity, but we have similarities. The Hijras in India are transgender men and women, eunuchs, transvestites and hermaphrodites that have been apart of Asia’s culture for thousands of years. They identify themselves as an alternate gender rather than homosexual or transsexual. Unlike trans people in the United States, the Indian hijras are believed to have mystical power. In order to survive, hijras bless newborn babies and newlyweds at celebrations for an exchange for goods, beg on the street and prostitute. Although they are seen to have mystical powers the sad truth is that they still face discrimination and ostracism just like all LGBT groups around the globe.

Understanding the Hijras and the view on them is an example that transgender and third gender people everywhere can achieve greater acceptance. Due to the fact that being transgender is more normal to see in this part of India, people have learned to understand and appreciate other aspects of their culture. The difference from the U.S and India is that now India recognizes a third gender in hopes of ending hate and promoting some sort of equality for all. What still is happening all over the world is simple. When they “come out” to their families and the community recognizes them as Hijra, many are kicked out, ostracized and turn to begging and prostitution just like everywhere else. Sex change is also a ritualistic ceremony in the Hindu religion. All the male organs are removed but done secretly because the Indian law forbids the sex change.

Although all categories of people are at risk for contracting HIV, there are a few factors that put trans people at a higher risk than others. Many assume that the only reason trans people are at risk is because they engage in a lot of unprotected sex. Some share needles to inject their hormones because some cannot get insurance to cover hormonal therapy.

Women of color that are transgender are at a higher risk for HIV infection than white transgender women. The NIH study noted that African-American and Latina transgender women had the highest infection rates. In the survey, more than 56% of black transgender women were HIV-positive and Latina trans women had an HIV infection rate of 16% . Not only do they have the highest STD rates, but they also face double discrimination. Being of color and transgender.

A huge issue in the trans community is that many HIV positive individuals undergoing transformation prefer hormone therapy rather than HIV medication. They are worried that HIV medication would either interfere with their hormone therapy or be a financial decision to choose between. Prioritizing hormone therapy over HIV medication can continue to increase the sickness of virus and faster death rates of HIV positive individual. It is a hard decision to undergo for trans people because hormone therapy is just as important to staying alive. On one hand, HIV and STD positive trans people are sick with a deadly illness, on the other hand, not being able to transform is just as bad as the virus killing them. According to Cichocki (2014), “Finding safe ways to obtain needed hormones and clean needles and syringes is a hard task. Many resort to sex for money, sharing needles, and purchasing hormones on the streets to meet hormonal needs.”

HIV, discrimination and