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I was diagnosed with HIV when I was 18. I started being an activist three months later, basically, at the same time, I started taking antiretrovirals. Since 2015, I have worked as a social mobilization advisor, focusing on youth at the Ministry of Health in Brazil.

I was 15 years old in 2006 when I had my first cell phone. At the time, technology was not being used to address issues related to sexuality. I come from a rural family. They did not know a lot about technology and there was strong resistance to embracing technology. In parallel to this, I was curious. I started using MSN for sexual networking – exchanging photos, making video calls and getting to know people.

In 2009, at the age of 18, I moved to São Paulo. I was dazzled by the city, its rhythm and its intensity. Soon, the parties started and, with them, the relationships. I was already completely in love with the world of technology and I used it to make new friends and to meet dates who circulated in the same tech universe. What I loved most about using technology was the speed at which everything happened.

My sweetheart at the time fell ill. My world froze. I was overwhelmed by doubts and uncertainties. He was hospitalized and his health deteriorated. He got worse day by day and then he passed away. During that period, I felt apathetic, tired and dull. I observed that my hair got thinner and that something was not right with my health. It was a matter of days before I was diagnosed with HIV. From there on, my life changed.

I struggled to accept my diagnosis and I joined a Facebook group of young people living with HIV. Here, people living with HIV were welcomed, listened to and helped by other young people. The Facebook group was incredibly strong; it has also developed into a powerful political and activism tool.

I realized that technology was used for various purposes and I wondered, why not use it to reach young people and promote attitudinal changes around HIV? Day by day, I found ways to do that by partnering with dating apps to promote the spread of sexual health information.

“The stigma, prejudices and discrimination against people living with HIV in dating apps are very quiet. You feel it slowly, in small doses, when you realize that people do not send messages to you, that no one sends pictures or has any kind of interaction with you when you reveal your HIV positive status.”

Recently, this has changed. People are more open to discussing HIV in dating apps and they also seek information, especially on PrEP. Dating apps provide an excellent opportunity to reach out to young people and increase access to HIV information, making it available at any time through banners, messages, pop-ups and other resources. Enabling HIV and prevention information to be linked to a profile makes conversations on the subject lighter and more natural.

This includes newer features, such as a field that allows you to show your HIV serology, whether or not you use PrEP and when you had your last STI test. These features are key to changing behaviour and attitudes surrounding HIV through apps.

I became an ambassador for an app and promoted prevention through the partnership. This was, in fact, the app that my husband approached me on. It was an important moment in our lives, not just because this is how we connected, but also because the app served to improve his knowledge about HIV and helped change his attitude.

We started dating in that period and we got married this year. I live with HIV and he does not and we are adept at U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) and combination

From 30 July – 2 August 2019, I participated in the Third Regional Meeting of Youth Leaders in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This is the last episode of a journey that started back in 2017 when PANCAP set in motion a project to support and connect young advocates of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Rights in the Caribbean region. Over the course of these two years, a steering committee was formed. Meetings and training activities were held. People came and went, but those who stayed during this last meeting demonstrated how strong the bond had become and how commitment and growth can happen when you support talented young people to work together. The agenda of the meeting was designed by the steering committee members with the support of the PANCAP Director, Dereck Springer and the PANCAP Knowledge for Health project.  Many inspirational stories were told, there was so much to learn from experiences including using social media to raise awareness about discrimination to the monitoring of public services by key populations and so much more!  In all of this, young people were leading the way. On the last day, I heard one of the older assistants say “there is a very high level of skill among these young people”.

My name is Njemile Webb, and I am the Youth Advocacy Leader of Comtalk International, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. I have been performing Advocacy work for almost all of my teenage years because of my passion for helping others and making a difference as it relates to HIV and AIDS.

My experiences being at the PANCAP Youth Leaders Meeting has been nothing short of amazing.  There was constant reinforcing of knowledge. I have had the pleasure of networking with other Caribbean Young Leaders where information and statistics at country-level are shared as it pertains to young persons.

I have noted that there is still a lot of work that has to be done within the Caribbean region, our continued dedication and aspirations as young leaders are just a few of the mechanisms that would assist with our target goal.

Life in advocacy can be challenging at times, but with adequate guidance and a positive approach, the target goal will be accomplished.  I am motivated and propelled to my task at hand, which is assisting the young persons within my country on all issues.

I am Trinidad and Tobago, and by extension, the Caribbean region. Together as youth leaders, we can make a positive change. There is surely nothing for us without us.

Trans persons in the Caribbean are subjected to exclusion and poverty that make them more vulnerable to violence. This exclusion starts with the lack of legal recognition of gender identity and makes it difficult for them to have access to health care and the formal work market.

In the region, trans persons cannot get their gender identity recognised on their identification documents. They can change their names on some documents but not on the gender marker in Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.  In the Dominican Republic and Haiti, they cannot modify their documents to include their preferred gender identity.

Legal gender identity recognition encompasses the components of name and gender mark, having just a name changed does not fulfil human rights obligations, it is necessary to get the gender marker changed in conjunction with the name to guarantee legal recognition of a trans person.

Gender is a fundamental element of a person’s identity, consequently, its recognition by the State is crucial to guarantee the full enjoyment of the human rights of trans persons, including protection against violence, torture, ill-treatment, right to health, education, employment, housing, access to social security, as well as the right to freedom of expression, and association.

Legal recognition of identity facilitates access to rights that should be enjoyed by all citizens, to the name, to the nationality, to the inscription in the civil registry, to the familiar relations, among other rights recognised at the national level. These rights are also included in international instruments such as the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The lack of recognition of identity implies that the person does not have legal proof of their existence, hindering full access to their rights. Trans persons in the Caribbean cannot exercise all their rights openly and participate in the daily activities of society because they do not exist as who they are. Not having personal documentation that genuinely reflects your identity is a violation of human rights.

Trans rights are human rights, trans people do exist in the Caribbean, and they are entitled to have their gender identity recognised and to have access to health. It’s time for our States to take a step forward to equality. UC Trans urges our governments to fulfil the international human rights obligations and honour the diversity that characterises the Caribbean region, joining efforts to protect and recognise the rights of trans persons and grant gender identity recognition.