XVI Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
17 - 21 August 1999, London

Reflections on "Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment" 1969 -1999

All Gender Health: Affirming Transgender Sexuality to Prevent HIV and STDs

Bockting, W.O., Forberg, J., & Robinson, B.E.

Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Practice and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School

Since 1992, we have collaborated with transgender community organizations to prevent HIV and STDs. Funded by the American Foundations for AIDS Research, we developed the first transgender HIV prevention education. Needs assessment revealed risk (co) factors of shame and isolation, search for affirmation, and sharing needles while injecting hormones, and called for community involvement and peer education. We implemented and evaluated three half-day workshops based on the Health Belief Model, eroticizing safer sex, and empowerment. Pre-, post-, and follow-up questionnaires (N=59) demonstrated changes in knowledge and attitudes, but not in risk behavior. A focus group of randomly selected workshop participants (N=8) indicated enhanced awareness and perceived susceptibility, success with prevention plans, and suggested we integrate HIV/STD prevention into comprehensive sexuality education. Funded by the Minnesota Department of Health, we subsequently developed a two-day All Gender Health seminar based on Sexual Attitude Reassessment. The seminar promotes sexual competence and esteem by helping participants become more knowledgeable and positive about their body, identity, and sexuality, confronting sexual health challenges across the life-span (including gender dysphoria, sexual assault, prostitution, and substance abuse), improving sexual communication (including disclosure of transgender identity and HIV status), and building dating and intimacy skills. Combining education and entertainment, the seminar contains lectures, exercises, videos, panels, performances, and small groups facilitated by peer educators. Five seminars are held at various community sites. We will discuss theory behind this intervention, review pre-seminar focus group results (N=29), outline the curriculum, and report evaluation findings of the first two seminars (N=97).