Representation and social vulnerability to HIV in transgender people

Objectives: to analyze the social representations of HIV vulnerability in transgender women. Methods: this qualitative study was based on the Theory of Social Representations, using the structural approach. The research was conducted in a hospital specializing in gender-affirming surgeries, involving 100 self-declared transgender women. The Free Word Association technique was applied using the inducing term “HIV exposure in transgender women” to obtain representational content. Data analysis was performed using the four-quadrant technique, facilitated by the Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires software, version 0.7 alpha 2. Results: the possible central nucleus identified included the terms “prevention, prostitution as a profession, prejudice, and risky behavior”. Social and individual issues were highlighted as important elements in the vulnerability process. Conclusions: the social representations of HIV vulnerability in transgender women are grounded in structural factors that lead to inequality, exclusion, prejudice, and discrimination.