Understanding several critical elements are key to thriving through all life stages. For women and girls of trans experience life can be challenging to navigate – but we lead with wanting you to know you should be free to determine what happens to you and your body for both your gender specific and your HIV care. Building support systems that actively work to provide safe and welcoming access to gender affirming HIV and reproductive healthcare is key. And, as you move through these spaces it is important to think intentionally about disclosure and related stigma and its impact on you, including HIV criminalization laws, extended grief, and ongoing trauma that are particularly important. Knowing your rights and protections can provide a sense of safety against bullying and disclosure of personal health information. Being subjected to either emotional or physical violence is unacceptable, you deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
As someone who is Transgender, we highlight key considerations for this population and life experience below:
- Culturally Competent and informed peer and ally support networks
- Access to Sex-positive, pleasure-based Prevention education (including PEP and PrEP) for women living with HIV and their sexual partner(s) and education on bodily autonomy, body acceptance, and building of refusal skills
- Impact of economic, social, environmental, racial, and gender inequities on the ability for all adults to maintain a quality of life that supports overall wellness, especially for persons that are managing a chronic condition like HIV.
- The topic of loneliness and isolation is especially relevant for older Transgender women living with HIV, including the importance of developing healthy relationships, especially long-term and having social and family supports (whether birth, or chosen, or both).
- HIV Drugs and hormone therapy interactions, safety
- Access to healthcare, including mental healthcare
- Transphobia, discrimination, and violence
- Substance use
- Legal and social protections
- Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, Pleasure, and Justice
- The 5 W’s of sharing your story (disclosure)
- HIV Stigma
- Gender Based Violence / IPV