Washington D.C., USA, July 2012www.aids2012.org Challenges of Trans Genders in the Black Diaspora Andrea Lamour-Harrington Morris Home-Administrative Resource Coordinator U.S. Positive Women’s Network- Steering Committee lXX International AIDS Conference July 22-27, 2012 Washington, D,C. USA Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 1

Washington D.C., USA, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, July 2012www.aids2012.org The House of La’mour Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 10

Washington D.C., USA, July 2012www.aids2012.org The Morris Home In Memory of Nizah Morris Established April 2012, Phila Pa 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, 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, 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 to challenges faced by Trans Genders in the Black Diaspora References: transgender-i.html Andrea Lamour-Harrington U.S. Positive Women's Network 13