The transgender community
at world AIDS
by Lorraine Sade-Baskerville
The XIII International Conference
on HIV/AIDS was held in July in Durban, South Africa, in the
Kwa-Zulu Natal province. The theme of the AIDS Conference
was “Breaking the Silence.” In the spirit of this
metaphor, the Community Indaba pre-conference session on Transgenders
and Sexual Health, which I facilitated, was an important opportunity
for the global transgender community to begin to find a voice
to speak out about all the transgender individuals who die
in silence from HIV/AIDS, die in silence because of barriers
to health care and education, and die in silence from social
and psychological pressures to renounce the legitimate expression
of their gender identity.
At the Indaba, one of the
panelists was a 40-year-old transsexual who is also HIV-positive.
Jacqueline described how Brazilian STD prevention campaigns
have been targeted towards sex workers for many years; for
this reason, many transgender sexual practices have been recognized
in current HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns produced by the government
and community organizations. However, there is little public
understanding of the trans phenomenon—even within the
gay community. The Brazilian government has adopted a very
limited acceptance of trans people. Sex reassignment surgery
is provided free by the government, but only on the limited
basis of engaging in a scientific study of transsexuality;
consequently, there is a long waiting list. However, Brazilian
law does not permit a name or sex change on any official identification
documents, even after a person undergoes reassignment surgery.
Another Indaba panelist was
Khartini, a transsexual from Malaysia and a senior manager
with their Pink Triangle Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender
(GLBT) health and counseling organization. She recently conducted
the first ever survey of attitudes and knowledge about HIV/AIDS
among Malaysian transsexuals. As she described her own personal
experience, she finds general public acceptance of transgender
people in the Malaysian population, but very strong condemnation
among segments of their Muslim religious community. After
her talk, a member of the audience described a very different,
and positive, degree of acceptance among the Muslim religious
community in Turkey.
After the Indaba, I met Peter,
a young trans person from Zimbabwe, who reported that trans
individuals are regularly put in jail and “become property
of the government.” Most trans hide in isolation because
of the harsh punishment if they are found out. They are called
Chingetanai, a Zimbabwean word which translates as “queens.”
Zimbabwe also suffers from economic and political isolation,
making it difficult for “outsiders” to reach those
people in need.
I am a proud African American
transgender sister who is advocating for the rights of transgender
people. It is ironic that the devastation of HIV/AIDS, and
the world wide response to this catastrophe, has not only
shaped my life but also provided the occasion for me to travel
to my “motherland,” the continent of my origin.
My interest in the personal and social consequences of the
African slave trade colored my visit with feelings of joy
and inspiration at standing on the soil where my ancestors
may have stood, feelings of great sadness at the historical
disruptions of slavery and apartheid, and feelings of hope
for the future after meeting African sisters and brothers
of all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds and observing
their great spirit and determination. I am personally committed
to strengthening the international contacts I made during
this journey.
Lorraine Sade-Baskerville
is founder and executive director of transGenesis, in Chicago.
For more information, contact
transgenesis@mailcity.com or call (800) 805–4052.
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