Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012 Challenges of Trans Genders in the Black Diaspora Andrea...
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Transcript of Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012 Challenges of Trans Genders in the Black Diaspora Andrea...
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Challenges of Trans Genders in the Black Diaspora
Andrea Lamour-HarringtonMorris Home-Administrative Resource Coordinator
U.S. Positive Women’s Network- Steering CommitteelXX International AIDS Conference
July 22-27, 2012Washington, D,C.
USA
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 1
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Presentation Overview
Landscape of current US HIV Epidemic
Where Is the Data on Trans in the Black Diaspora
National Transgender Discrimination Survey
Trans Genders of Black Diaspora ; Worst Outcomes
Migrants v/s US Citizens
Battling Isolation with Chosen Families
Welcome to the Morris Home
Policy Recommendations
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 2
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Landscape of the current US HIV/AIDS Epidemic
• The CDC reports 1.2 million people in the United States, living with HIV.
• Close to about half of those living with HIV in the U.S. are African-Americans.
• African Americans only make up 12% of the total U.S. population.
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 3
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Surveillance Data is not uniformly collected on Trans genders in the Black Diaspora living in
the US.
28%
15-42%
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 4
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
CDC Acknowledges short falls in data specific to Trans Gender Communities
August 2011, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced:
“Revising the National System for reporting HIV cases to capture sex assigned at birth. This is to
improve the likelihood of accurately identifying diagnoses of HIV infection among transgender
people.”
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 5
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Factors potentially related to increased HIV risks, add to severity and the invisibility of the epidemic.
•Mental health concerns• Physical abuse• Social isolation•Economic marginalization•Unmet transgender-specific healthcare needs
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 6
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Hardships of being Black, HIV Positive & Transgender in the U.S.
20% of the black respondents are HIV positive. (The general black population's HIV prevalence rate is 2.4 percent.)
32% of black transgender respondents have lost a job because of bias; 48 percent were not hired because of it;
34 percent were living in extreme poverty with household income of less than $10,000 a year
Almost 50 % admitted to selling drugs or performing sex work.
21% of those who were attending school as transgender people had to leave because the harassment was so severe.
41% have been homeless.29% of those who had been in jail or prison reported being physically assaulted. 32 % reported being sexually assaulted.
34% reported not seeking medical attention when injured or sick for fear of being discriminated against in health care settings.
26% of black transgender people are unemployed -- that's three times the rate among the general public and twice that of the rest of the transgender community.
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 7
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Trans Genders in the Black Diaspora encounter even more Pronounced Bias and
Higher Negative Outcomes
• Seeking employment
• Applying for housing
• Traveling
• Emergency care
• Coming out as Trans
•Discloser of HIV Status
•Police Interactions
•Migrant Trans v/s US Citizens
•Isolation -Adoption of Chosen Families
•Praying Together
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 8
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Headlines
“FEDS CHARGE TRANS Woman”
“DA to Investigate Morris Death”
“Police Advisory Commission revives a cold murder case”
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network
9
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
The House of La’mour
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 10
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
The Morris HomeIn Memory of Nizah Morris
Established April 2012, Phila Pa 19143
• Safe• Recovery-oriented
environment• For individuals in transition
from one gender to another• Other gender variants • From “the streets” • Shelter programs.
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 11
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
I support the policy recommendations of the National Center for Transgender Equality “Blueprint for Equality”
. • Counting Trans people in federal surveys
• Accurate ID to vote & travel
• Equal access to public programs
• Ending trans-violence
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 12
Washington D.C., USA, 22-27 July 2012www.aids2012.org
Thank you. We invite you to Join us at the Black Diaspora Networking Zone in the
Global Village for more discussion on shaping response tochallenges faced by
Trans Genders in the Black [email protected]
References:http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/transgender/
http://www.transequality.org/Resources/NCTE_Blueprint_for_Equality2012_FINAL.pdf•http://www.endtransdiscrimination.org/news.html•http://www.thetaskforce.org/•http://transactivists.org/•http://www.thebody.com/content/64513/the-double-burden-of-being-black-and-transgender-i.html•http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=168375
Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 13