Why is it important for T2SNB youth to share information about HIV & Hep C with each other?
At YouthCO, we know that T2SNB youth, particularly youth who are trans women and femmes who are also Indigenous, Black or youth of colour, are among the youth most impacted by HIV & Hep C.
When a youth is diagnosed with HIV or Hep C, it is not always recorded whether or not they are T2SNB. This means that our communities are often erased by the healthcare sector, and that HIV and Hep C information, supports, and health services that recognize the specific needs of T2SNB communities are deprioritized. Factors like lower rates of employment, housing, and healthcare access also mean T2SNB communities are impacted by HIV and Hep C in ways not well understood by cisgender people. In addition, research often does not include T2SNB folks in meaningful ways.
As a result, T2SNB youth may struggle to get information, support, and health services that relate to our cultures, bodies, and experiences.
Finding healthcare providers that feel safe and affirming is difficult. If we are HIV and/or Hep C positive, Two-Spirit, Indigenous, Black, people of colour, immigrants, superfat, fat, femme, houseless, living with disabilities, sex workers, using substances or living with an addiction and/or have other
marginalized and stigmatized experiences, we may be even more unsafe accessing healthcare.
One of the many ways we can support T2SNB communities is providing accurate information that can give us some tips and reduce the stigma surrounding HIV and Hep C. Luckily for us, for a long time our communities have been finding ways to support each other when institutions fail us.