The need for greater efforts to include trans and gender diverse communities in responding to HIV is the focus of a new paper released today – Friday 1 December, World AIDS Day.

Internationally, it is recognised by the World Health Organisation that trans and gender diverse (TGD) communities have been ‘neglected’ when it comes to HIV prevention, and that transgender women “bear an extraordinarily heavy burden of HIV”. Moreover, further research is required in Australia to determine the virus’ prevalence among transgender men who have sex with men.

In response to the increasing recognition of the needs of TGD people locally, ACON – NSW’s leading HIV prevention, HIV support and LGBTI health organisation – has worked with PASH.tm, an advocacy group for gay, bisexual and queer transgender men, and transgender health and advocacy service, The Gender Centre, to develop a discussion paper, Effective and Meaningful Inclusion of Trans and Gender Diverse People in HIV Prevention, to foster greater inclusion in HIV programs and services.

ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill said while we are making significant gains in reducing HIV transmissions in NSW, it is important we now better address the needs of trans and gender communities in HIV prevention efforts.

“NSW has a world leading HIV response with a comprehensive range of evidence-based HIV prevention technologies. Not only does this include condoms and new biomedical tools such as PrEP, but also the advances in treatment for people living with HIV that see viral loads suppressed to an undetectable level, meaning that transmission is virtually impossible,” Mr Parkhill said.

“The changing landscape of HIV prevention presents new and important opportunities. Breakthroughs in science and research have helped to revitalise our response to the epidemic. As our response evolves, it has become increasingly obvious that there are major barriers to meaningful trans and gender diverse inclusion – and unless we address these barriers carefully and pragmatically, we will see increasing disparity, where some people do not derive the same benefits from the gains we are making in HIV.”

PASH.tm Co-Chair Ted Cook said among the key issues that need to be addressed is ensuring TGD populations are included and better reflected in HIV data and research. “Currently, surveillance systems fail to accurately capture HIV prevalence among trans and gender diverse populations. Mostly, this is because we do not ask adequate gender-related questions in HIV diagnosis and notification processes,” Mr Cook said.

“As a result, there is very little empirical data on the experiences and needs of people with trans experience or non-binary people in relation to HIV. Inaccurate collection of gender marker data means that our communities are often not identified, which compounds our invisibility. Changes to the existing processes, informed by experiences, histories and identities of trans and gender diverse people, are a necessity.”

Mr Parkhill said critical to improving our approach to HIV health promotion and intervention is engaging, consulting and resourcing peer-led and peer-driven responses.

“This paper is the result of an incredibly valuable collaborative effort between The Gender Centre, PASH.tm and ACON. Contributions from a significant number of community members have been made to support the development of this paper – a document that will be relevant to clinicians, researchers and policy makers.”

Mr Parkhill added in order for NSW to achieve the goal of virtually eliminating HIV transmissions by 2020, it is important all communities at risk of acquiring HIV are included in the response.

“Everyone at risk of acquiring HIV has to be meaningfully included in our work if we are to achieve the virtual elimination of HIV transmission. That does not mean just for some – it means for all those at risk,” Mr. Parkhill said.

View the Effective and Meaningful Inclusion of Trans and Gender Diverse People in HIV Prevention discussion paper here.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

David Alexander, ACON Media and Communications Officer

E: dalexander@acon.org.au   T: +61 (02) 9206 2044   M: +61 (0)428 477 042