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 reaching 50 is a success story,” she says.
When Castellanos was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, doctors gave her six months to live. She had already spent years watching Aids devastate her community, with effective treatment beyond the reach of most people in low-income countries.
