In Latin America, members of sexual minorities living with HIV suffer doubly. Experts warn that if their stigmatization does not end, the AIDS epidemic will not be overcome in the region.
The tenth World Scientific Conference on HIV (IAS 2019), which began last Sunday (July 21, 2019) in Mexico City and ended this Wednesday (July 24, 2019), served to present hopeful new developments: a subcutaneous implant capable of preventing infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), for one year, a vaccine with similar effects that could be available in a few years, and the start of the study of the benefits of PrEP in Latin America.
PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, which involves the systematic use of antiretroviral medications by HIV-negative individuals to prevent HIV infection through contact with bodily fluids during unprotected sex. The study was conducted in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru with the participation of men who have sex with men and transgender women, the social groups with the highest rates of new HIV infections in Latin America.
PrEP: safe sex, with a condom.
The hope of PrEP
The study revealed that a high percentage of those receiving PrEP took the medication as prescribed. However, Valdiléa Veloso, the specialist who presented the study's results at IAS 2019, lamented that such valuable HIV prevention mechanisms are so underutilized in the region. Her complaint echoed that of experts who point out that the most vulnerable demographic groups—men who have sex with men and transgender women—suffer doubly when they become infected with HIV.
Gunilla Carlsson, director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), warned on Tuesday (July 23, 2019) that if discrimination against gay men and transgender women, and the additional stigma they face when they are known to be HIV-positive, is not stopped, the AIDS epidemic will not be overcome in Latin America. In an interview with DW, Jürgen Rockstroh, president of the German Society for the Fight Against AIDS, echoed Carlsson's concerns, citing alarming figures.
Ignorance and impunity
“Four out of every five transgender people murdered worldwide are killed in Latin America,” says Rockstroh, holding the subcontinent's governments responsible for the level of discrimination suffered by this social group. The widespread impunity, homophobia, and transphobia in the region, openly encouraged by the most conservative sectors of society—who often use state institutions as a platform—create fertile ground for the proliferation of these hate crimes.
In the case of transgender women, the rejection they face in Latin America is so tenacious that many are left with no option but to engage in sex work. And even within this niche of the informal labor market, they are targets of vicious physical attacks that, because they go unpunished, discourage them from seeking help in the public sphere. It is no wonder, then, that transgender women have such irregular medical checkups, that they do not receive treatment when they become infected with HIV, and that they contribute to its spread.
At the IAS 2019, it was reported that Thailand had successfully integrated a large number of transgender women into HIV prevention projects and other areas of society. The crucial question in Latin America is how to replicate the practices that have been successful in other regions, especially considering the challenging political and social conditions in Latin America.
Gudrun Heise (ers)