- How would you feel if you visit a clinic because you’re sick, but the doctor or nurse who helps you, laughs at you, rather than treats you? That’s the kind of treatment people like Luyanda Mzimela and Viyonce Mabena frequently get.
- Mzimela and Mabena are transgender women, so they were classified as male when they were born, but identify as female. Trans women have a higher risk than the general population to contract HIV.
- Health workers who discriminate against trans women fuel the spread of HIV. This abuse stops transgender women from going to clinics and hospitals to get tested, treated or protected.
- Mzimela and Mabena now host workshops to change health workers’ attitudes, so they focus on transgender people’s health needs rather than their appearance. Our TV team paid them a visit.
How does discrimination spread HIV? Mia Malan and Mohale Moloi broke it down in our newsletter on 30 May.
- READ MORE: The anti-HIV injection will be made in SA: Here are 4 benefits of the deal that made it happen
Mohale Moloi worked at Bhekisisa as a television producer and health journalist from July 2021 to March 2024.
