No One Left Behind Has to Mean Us
by Emil Cañita (he/she/they)
In this edition of Feature, three trans women living with HIV, from Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, reflect on visibility, healthcare and community across cultures in the lead-up to World AIDS Day and the theme “No One Left Behind”. They share how trans communities have long existed across Southeast Asian cultures, but still face erasure in Australia’s HIV response when services treat them as an “afterthought.”
They highlight how peer-support and meaningful co-design change things: when a trans person meets a trans peer, “the conversation changes… trust starts sooner.”
They call for service-design that begins with those most excluded, gender-literacy embedded as standard practice, and trans people paid and trusted for their leadership.
Acknowledging Trans Day of Remembrance (20 November), this Feature also promotes a national study at Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society in partnership with Living Positive Victoria, seeking trans and gender-diverse people living with HIV to share their experiences and help shape future policy and services.