Transgender Law Center announced a new partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the development of a constituent-driven strategy to reduce structural inequities that drive high rates of HIV incidents in transgender communities.
The funding is for one year and will enable Transgender Law Center to form a diverse national advisory board of eight to ten trans people living with HIV, with strong focus on trans women of color. The advisory board will assist in a systems gap assessment, identify best and promising practices in community response to HIV, and issue recommendations.
Cecilia Chung, senior strategist of Transgender Law Center, will be leading this effort to change the course of the HIV epidemic in trans communities and improve health outcomes for those who have been diagnosed. It is important to develop policy recommendations as well as legal and legislative strategies guided by communities most impacted — trans people living with HIV. “With the support of the advisory board, Transgender Law Center will engage the community meaningfully in the examination of how systemic barriers and social conditions (such as discrimination, transphobia, criminalization and violence) drive the HIV epidemic and negatively impact health outcomes.” says Cecilia. “This will also give us an opportunity to support and strengthen the leadership of some of the most vulnerable members in the transgender community.”