HIV/STIs

Trans communities have been particularly, and unevenly, affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In 2019, the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that trans persons are 12 times more likely to be living with HIV than the rest of the population. HIV and STI vulnerability is concentrated among trans people who have sex with cisgender (cis) men, belong to minoritized racial/ethnic groups, live in poverty, and engage in street-based sex work. This reflects intersecting vulnerabilities and resilience factors at the social-structural, sexual network, psychosocial, and biological levels. HIV has had a devasting impact on trans communities globally and, at the same time, has been a mobilizing force. Trans women and other trans people have organized to demand ...