Sex, drugs, stigma put Thai transsexuals at HIV riskby AFP News agency (Agence France-Presse)
July 23, 2012 at 11:58 AM
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/303850/sex-drugs-stigma-put-thai-transsexuals-at-hiv-risk
Thanakorn, or Gigi, packs condoms with leaflets before giving them to transgender people at The Poz Home Center in Bangkok. From a cafe near the go-go bars of a Bangkok red light district where she campaigns for safe sex, Gigi gives an unvarnished view of how she joined Thailand's growing ranks of transgender people with HIV.
Antiretroviral drugs have so far spared Gigi the worst of the sickness, allowing her to leave prostitution to work as an activist, dispensing condoms and safe sex advice to young transgenders in the Thai capital.
It is, health campaigners say, an increasingly important job....
Infection rates among transgenders are thought to be on the up, as high-risk lifestyles, including prostitution and drug use, and a lack of targeted healthcare take their toll on one of the kingdom's most marginalised groups.
