Staying Safe
- There is no cure for HIV and AIDS, but HIV is a treatable, chronic disease. Getting tested and learning your diagnosis could save your life by helping you find appropriate medical treatment.
- Someone who looks healthy may be infected with HIV. Always practice safer sex and never share needles (for hormones, for drugs, or for silicone).
Risk-factors
- Many socioeconomic factors in the transgender community negatively impact access to health care, including HIV prevention and treatment services. These factors include a higher unemployment rate, and lack of health insurance.
- Transwomen sex workers are at particularly high risk, since they are often financially induced to engage in barrier-free sex.
More on the challenges and barriers faced by the Transgender community:
HIV/AIDS in the Transgender Population: A Community Consultation Meeting (PDF) (2005)
Prevention and Treatment
- Trans-folk often face stigma and discrimination, which increases our HIV risk while at the same time makes it more difficult for us to access HIV prevention and treatment services.
- Few transgender sensitive prevention and treatment programs exist.
- More research is needed on how HIV and AIDS treatments may interact with hormone therapy. If you are HIV positive, consult a doctor who is familiar with transgender health concerns.
Statistics
- There is no national data on the prevalence of HIV in the transgender community, due to a lack of data collection by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies.
- The majority of HIV/AIDS research fails to accurately collect information on sex and gender. There is inconsistent use of terminology such as the words 'sex' and 'gender.' There are inconsistent methods for collecting information on gender and sex. In many cases, no information about gender identity is collected at all.
- Smaller regional studies, however, indicate that the transgender community has been one of the communities hit hardest by this epidemic.
- Local needs assessments have placed HIV prevalance in transwomen ranging from 14% (San Juan, PR) to 27% (Houston, TX). Studies have placed prevalence in San Francisco and New York as over 30% (some studies place prevelance in the 60% range).
Clinical Resources
Special issue on Transgender and HIV: Risks, Prevention, and Care
The International Journal of Transgenderism (IJT), Volume 3, Number 1+2, January - June 1999
www.symposion.com/ijt/hiv_risk/
Transgender Community and HIV and AIDS Research
http://www.researchadvocates.org/article012.htm
Collection of trans HIV data slow (June 2008)
http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=76431
What are the HIV prevention needs of male-to-female transgender persons (MTF)?
www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/What%20Are%20the%20HIV%20Prevention%20Needs%20of%20MTF%20Transgender%20Persons.pdf
HIV and AIDS Fact Sheet
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