Discrimination Puts Trans Women at Higher Risk for HIV/AIDS

A new HIV/AIDS report from the CDC finds that trans women are at a disproportionate risk for HIV due to a multitude of reasons, including housing, discrimination, and economic hardship.

The report, which came out late last month, consisted of an analysis of more than 1,600 transgender women between 2019 and 2020. HIV/AIDS tends to disproportionately affect trans women, especially trans women of color. In the survey, almost half of all transfeminine individuals interviewed had HIV.That number rose to 35% for Latina women and a staggering 62% for Black women. The study’s authors found that there is a notable correlation between lack of access to healthcare, PrEP, and the anti-trans discrimination that can be found in employment, and housing.

Trans women are one of the most at-risk members of the LGBTQ+ community when it comes to discrimination and hate crimes. Anti-trans political discourse and anti-trans legislation often center on pitting trans women vs. cis women. An example would be the discussion of anti-trans sports and bathroom bans. Seven out of 10 respondents to the CDC’s study said that they had experienced some form of discrimination in the past year, including getting fired from their jobs or being denied housing. This in turn makes healthcare much harder to obtain for trans women, leaving them more vulnerable to diseases such as HIV/AIDS. This once again makes employment and housing much harder to obtain. As the study’s authors put it, “When economically marginalized transgender women are refused employment, this refusal cyclically contributes to economic hardships.”

Even though there is a lot of ongoing HIV/AIDS research, and the cure may be close, it is unfortunately not here yet. In the meantime, trans women need support in a battle that they are unfairly affected by. In their report’s conclusion, the CDC recommends that Medicaid programs nationwide be expanded to cover gender-affirming care. In states where such care was not covered, trans women are more than twice as likely to be unable to find a job. The organization also theorized that decriminalizing sex work would help reduce trans incarceration rates, therefore enabling more trans individuals to get the help they need.