WHO: Discrimination to blame for HIV Rates, poor healthcare for trans people

A WHO study on transgender people and HIV notes that inadequate health care for the trans population sits squarely on those who oppose the expression of authentic gender identity. The report sums up the situation in dire terms: “Transgender people are often socially, economically, politically and legally marginalized.” The result is that transgender women have "shocking rates" of HIV, study coauthor JoAnne Keatley said. "There was a recent meta-analysis demonstrating that a transgender woman was 49 times as likely to be living with HIV [than the general population] in 15 countries in which data was looked at and analyzed."

But it’s hard to collect reliable data, as only those 15 countries offered laboratory-proven data on HIV prevalence among transgender people. Not one country in Eastern Europe or Africa could provide information to the WHO team by the time researchers needed it. The available information, though, did show a health crisis, and Keatley, who works with the Center for Excellence for Transgender Health at the University of California, and is herself trans, said discrimination is to blame. 

“What is driving the epidemic is really the refusal — I would say — of governments to pass legislation that allows [transgender people] to function in society, and allows them to participate in the workplace,” she said. Still, Keatley said she sees some progress. Read More 

South Korea: This man’s story explains the emergence of South Korea’s anti-LGBT movement

Jonah Lee, a round-faced 63-year-old with a swoop of graying hair, once spent his days running gay bars and drag clubs in Korea and Japan in the ’70s and ’80s. His flagship, Hot Love, was a hit in both Seoul and Tokyo. Today, Lee is known for something else entirely. He claims, through a ministry he started in the Korean capital in 1994, to have counseled more than 1,200 people seeking to “escape homosexuality.”

Lee’s story — from gay entertainment pioneer to the leading spokesperson for Korea’s ex-gay movement — was made possible by the trajectory of many of South Korea’s Christian churches, which have grown exponentially since Lee first became a Christian almost 40 years ago. Today, many of Korea’s most important Christian leaders have come to preach homosexuality as an existential threat. These churches believe their movement is doing more than just saving people from sin; they believe they are saving the nation itself.

Lee’s path to ex-gay leader is a story in miniature of how homosexuality rapidly went from an almost invisible issue in South Korea to one that is now bringing tens of thousands of shouting protesters to the streets. Read More 

GALZ disputes prison claim

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has come out against the statement, with director Chesterfield Samba, urging that "prison culture encourages men to have sex with men" and that it isn't a homosexual issue. Furthermore, he says "Not providing condoms to prisoners has serious implications that when prisoners are released and come back into society to wives and girlfriends they may infect healthy partners and spread HIV." Read More

Zimbabwe: HIV prevalence in prisons alarms Health Minister

Speaking at a prep meeting for the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, Health and Childcare Minister David Parirenyatwa said, "The rise of HIV prevalence in prisons shows that it is either these prisoners are infected already before they get into prison and if not then it means homosexuality is rampant in prisons." 

According to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, HIV prevalence among prisoners is 28%. Dr. Parirenyatwa said it was important for the government to address the prevalence of HIV and Aids in prisons. He said although Zimbabwe had its own cultural expectations, the country could not run away from the idea that homosexuality "is happening in our prisons". Read More

Rwanda: HIV prevalence among female sex workers, gays rises

HIV/AIDS prevalence is increasing among female commercial sex workers and the gay community, according to a report by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. Findings reveal one reason behind high HIV among the Rwandan gay community is stigma and resentment, which has made them continue practising their lifestyle discreetly and dangerously. Many of members of the LGBT community who live with HIV do not seek treatment, while others do not get HIV tested because they fear mistreatment from the public and medics.

The survey also indicates that some MSMs are involved in commercial sex. Some 42.5% reported having ever been paid with money, goods, or services for sex. “It is true, commercial sex among LGBT is high,” said Enoc Ndahenyuka, member of Rwanda Rainbow Rights, an association for gay rights. “It’s because most of them are really vulnerable; some have no jobs, others have been rejected by their families & others have kept their orientation secret so that they don’t get thrown out of home."

Authorities at Rwanda Correctional Services recently confirmed the existence of homosexuality in prisons, raising concerns that many of those who are HIV-positive go on to spread it when they are released. However, calls to distribute condoms in prisons have been suppressed by state health authorities. Read More

Thailand, South Africa, US: High risk groups adhere to daily PrEP

A recent study reports that those with a high risk of contracting HIV — including gay and bisexual men and transgender women — will adhere to a daily pre-exposure prophylaxis regimen to prevent HIV, shutting down critics who've said PrEP won't work because of adherence issues.

The study looked at adherence among transgender women and gay and bisexual men in New York and Thailand as well as young, single black women in South Africa. All of these groups successfully adhered to daily dosing.

Some previous placebo-controlled PrEP clinical trials had found challenges with adherence, but in this HIV Prevention Trials Network study, 76% of women prescribed PrEP adhered to the daily regimen. Trans women and men who have sex with men from Harlem and Bangkok showed adherence rates of 65% and 85% respectively. Read More 

South Africa: Sub-Saharan African HIV advocates meet government to strengthen HIV response for MSM

The MSMGF co-hosted a workshop of advocates, government officials, healthcare providers and public health practitioners from twelve African countries. Regional advocates discussed the HIV needs of men who have sex with men with their government officials, armed with guidelines by the WHO. In some instances, this is the first time advocates sat across the table with government officials in their respective countries.

“We have a groundbreaking opportunity to scale-up high quality sexual health services for MSM in Africa”, said Dr. George Ayala, executive director of the MSMGF, “We have sound technical guidance from the WHO, as well as a wealth of program experience from community-led organizations around the world. These have been used in developing a practical guidance for implementing WHO recommended interventions, which we discussed at the meeting.”  Read More 

Thailand: Declares itself closed for surrogacy as a gay couple struggles to get their American daughter home

Following contentious cases involving suspected abuse of surrogate mothers and the children they carry, Thailand has enacted a new law that prohibits foreigners from seeking surrogates in the country. 

A child born in Thailand by surrogate last year was left behind after he was born with Down’s syndrome. It’s still unclear whether that was because the couple refused to take him following the diagnosis or if the surrogate mother refused to let him go, but in the fallout the Thai government decided to ban the country’s “womb-for-hire” industry where they saw many risks for Thai surrogate mothers and children.

As the new rules takes effect this week, a couple is in the midst of a battle to bring the daughter they had through a Thai surrogate home. American Bud Lake and his Spanish husband, Manuel Santos, say their daughter has been granted American citizenship but can’t leave Thailand without a passport and permission from the Thai government. Read More 

US: Should Doctors Operate On Intersex Babies?

M.C. was born with ambiguous genitalia, a rare condition that doctors addressed with surgery. Now, in a landmark lawsuit, M.C.’s parents are challenging the medical mainstream: Why does a surgeon decide what sex a child should be?

Roughly 1 in every 2,000 babies in the U.S. are born, like M.C., with a range of traits that fall somewhere along the wide spectrum between male and female. Some doctors argue that the number of these so-called intersex babies is even higher — as many as 1 in 100 — depending on what biological markers are used to draw the line where nature hasn’t. Many intersex patients, parents, legal experts, and bioethicists are opposed to surgical fixes, which they argue are often medically unnecessary, riddled with consent issues, and physically and psychologically harmful.

As M.C. begins the anguish of adolescence, Pam and her husband, Mark, are waging a landmark lawsuit against the hospitals and state guardians who decided to put their son through sex-assignment surgery. The Crawfords’ lawsuit is only the latest development in a movement against intersex surgeries that has been building since John Money’s John/Joan case re-emerged in the late 1990s. Read More 

Brazil: Transgender people encounter resistance from many healthcare professionals

The Supreme Court of Justice of Brazil approved legal gender reassignment in 2009,  and with support from the Ministry of Health, Brazil's public health system provides free gender reassignment surgeries. 

In practice, many transgender people face discrimination at healthcare facilities. Given the social context of Brazil, the ordinances by the Ministry of Health are still not enough. Coordinator of the State Center for Combating Homophobia in Pernambuco, Hugo Felipe Lima, said "The context is discrimination, people are depending on the humanity of others. No one admits to being biased, but from the doctor to the professional cleaning prejudice happens."

In 2012 the Center began offering priority job training in health. More than 400 people have passed through awareness workshops. This semester, classes are expected to resume, covering the 12 regional health managers.  Read More

India: Foreigners pick India for bargain sex-change operations

54yr old British national Sue Pascoe won't forget her trip to India in March. It was at Olmec Plastic Surgery Centre in Delhi's Pitampura that she was given the body she always craved of, a woman. Though she was officially diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2014, the earliest she could have undergone sex reassignment surgery under UK's National Health Service would be in 2018. Private treatment would have set her back by £40,000, so she started scouring the internet for alternatives. 

"I wanted affordable quality care from a highly experienced surgeon with high patient satisfaction from reference-able clients. What also attracted me to India was the fact that it is home to such a huge population of trans people," says Pascoe who gleaned information online. Like Pascoe, more transgenders are choosing India as a destination for surgery.

The procedure costs between Rs 7.5 lakh and 11 lakh in Thailand whereas in India you can get a new sexual identity starting Rs 3.5 lakh without compromising on the quality of treatment. Transgender tourists are now adding to India's booming medical tourism market, expected to attract 320 million tourists this year. Read More 

Russia: Considering ban on imported condoms

Foreign-made condoms, X-ray machines, and other medical equipment may be barred in Russia. The ban, which would prevent the Russian state from purchasing the items from foreign markets, was proposed by the Industry and Trade Ministry as part of an ongoing trade war between the West and Russia. It would not prevent shops from selling foreign-condoms but it would prevent the state from buying and distributing them, as well as raise the price of foreign-condoms. 

The ban raises concerns about Russia's fight to control HIV, as it's one of the few places where infection rates are still increasing rapidly. New infections are most common among injection drug users, though advocates say antigay stigma may prevent men who have sex with men from revealing how they were infected. Dr. Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the Russian Federal AIDS Centre, said more needs to be done to prevent infections, including public health campaigns and rolling back restrictions on sex education in schools. 

In response to criticism, former chief sanitary inspector and current government advisor Dr. Gennady Onischenko said condoms "have nothing to do with health." Pokrovsky argued that there is no direct link between imported condom sales and infection rates because the cost of imported condoms are high, saying that if given the choice between buying a condom and buying a beer, the average trade school student would choose the beer.  Read More