GSS Assistant Professor Sameena Azhar, Ph.D., recently co-authored a book chapter in Douglas Vakoch’s book Transgender India: Understanding Third Gender Identities and Experiences.
Azhar co-authored the chapter, titled “Exploring the Psychosocial Needs of Third Gender People Living with HIV in Hyderabad, India,” with Jason Vaudrey.
Read the abstract below:
In this chapter, we provide an overview of a qualitative study exploring the psychosocial needs of third gender people living with HIV in Hyderabad, India. We applied Meyer’s minority stress theory as our theoretical framework to analyze the lived experiences of third gender people living with HIV in Hyderabad, India. We completed 16 in-depth interviews that were digitally audio-recorded in Telugu and Hindi, then were translated and transcribed directly into English. Using thematic content analysis, a team of four coders read the transcripts multiple times and categorized themes into broad groupings. Through an iterative process of team discussions, we regrouped these themes as we continued to code the transcripts. Four key themes emerged from our analysis: (1) limited economic opportunities outside of sex work; (2) lack of accountability for complaints regarding abuses against third gender people; (3) limited access to gender-affirming HIV medical care; and (4) resilience against social stigma. These themes highlight that greater research and programmatic support needs to be paid in order to more fully address the psychosocial needs of third gender people living with HIV in Hyderabad.
