Today, Trans Day of Visibility (TDoV), Terrence Higgins Trust has said it stands with the trans community and celebrates those fighting for the rights and wellbeing of trans people everywhere.
The HIV charity said in a blog post: “This includes trans people living with HIV, who can live long and healthy lives on effective treatment but who continue to experience significant stigma and discrimination.”
TDoV is especially important in the context of increasing transphobia both in the UK and abroad. A recent YouGov poll indicates increasingly negative attitudes towards trans people in the UK, which is creating a progressively precarious environment for the community.
Furthermore, trans people who are living with HIV experience significant discrimination and stigma as a result of their intersecting gender identity and HIV status.
The charity’s Positive Voices (2024) survey, which surveyed 4,540 people about their experiences of living with HIV in the UK, found lower outcomes for trans people living with HIV across nearly all metrics:
– 50% of those who identified as trans, non-binary or in another way experienced physical violence compared to those 26% of those in the general survey population
– Among people living with HIV, unemployment was highest among people who identified as trans, non-binary or in another way (19%)
– 39% of people living with HIV who identified as trans, non-binary or in another way living reported symptoms of depression
– Over one in five (23%) people who identified as trans, non-binary or in another way reported being verbally harassed because of their HIV status in the last year
– 48% of people who identified as trans, non-binary or in another way felt ashamed of their HIV status
Terrence Higgins Trust has said it will continue to fight for change and to provide life-changing support so that all trans people living with HIV can live well.
Niamh Millar is Terrence Higgins Trust’s Online Living Well Co-ordinator, and is a trans woman living with HIV.
She said: “On this TDoV, we must challenge transphobia in all its forms, and even when the conversation is difficult. Especially when it is difficult! Decisions around trans care have an immediate impact. We must challenge. We must not shy away. And we need everyone to stand with us, on all fronts. It’s tiring, dealing with transphobia and HIV stigma. It impacts our mental health and our quality of life.
“We know all too well the stigma we face as people living with HIV, particularly within health care setting, but when you add in being trans it can often lead to further discrimination. There is so much misunderstanding about both, and whether unintentional or deliberate, it can be a trying experience. And these are rarely one off.”
Among other projects, Niamh runs My Community, Terrence Higgins Trust’s free online space for people living with HIV to connect. Members can talk and share with others from across the country, discussing anything from navigating HIV and relationships to films and music.
Niamh added: “My hope is that trans people living with HIV will see this and join My Community. We have a trans nonbinary space where we can connect, share and support each other. This is an important lifeline and community space for trans people living with HIV.”
My Community is free for members to use but is reliant on donations. A donation of £25 today could help keep My Community running so that trans people living with HIV can continue to share experiences, information and mutual support.
Living well with HIV and good sexual health should be accessible for everyone, but according to Terrence Higgins Trust “trans, non-binary and gender diverse people often find they are left out of mainstream information relating to health and wellbeing”.
If you’re a trans person living with HIV or wanting to know more about sexual health, you can check out the charity’s online sexual health resources for trans and non-binary people.
