Trans Woman Erika Castellanos Survives HIV and Stigma in Latin America

‘Reaching 50 is a success story’: how one trans woman survived HIV and stigma in Latin America

Erika Castellanos has beaten the life expectancy of 35 for a transgender woman in the region, but warns aid cuts and a rollback in human rights risk reversing efforts to end Aids Erika Castellanos has outlived what she describes as one of the cruellest statistics in Latin America. The life expectancy of a transgender woman in the region is estimated to be 35 years. “I am 50 years old. A lot of trans women are killed very early in life, either because of HIV or because of transphobia, so reach...

By John Musenze in Rio de Janeiro