A UN report says nearly half of trans-women in the Asia-Pacific region could have HIV, as poor healthcare and high-risk lifestyles push infection rates to "critical levels". The UN Development Programme study says the region’s estimated 9-9.5 million MTF population is "bearing the brunt of the HIV epidemic". The UNDP says the figure is drawn from anecdotal evidence of infection rates among trans-women from the "scattered and often small-scale research" available across the region. Report author Sam Winter, of Hong Kong University, urged governments to take note of the "burning need to address a very human crisis", pointing out many transgender people end up working as prostitutes and having unsafe sex. "Social exclusion, poverty and HIV infection contribute to what we call a 'stigma sickness slope' - a downward spiral that is difficult to reverse," he says in the "Lost in Transition" study. The report found transgender people also routinely suffer violence and prejudice while being offered narrow economic opportunities and scant psychological support.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 22nd May 2012 - 10:10am