Report of WAD10

PLUS.doc

KEEP THE LIGHT ON HIV AND HUMAN RIGHTS

LIGHT FOR TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

WORLD AIDS DAY 2010

1st & 2nd DECEMBER
KOLKATA, HOWRAH

Organized by Supported by

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Background:

People like us (PLUS) Kolkata a

community based organization for
gender variant males and transgender
in Bengal and PROTHOMA- the
Transgender shelter home and crises
intervention centre in Kolkata
observed World AIDS Day 2010,
December 1st and 2nd 2010 at Kolkata
and Howrah City. Two day long
Street Campaign and Information
booth along with cultural program
has been organised for both the day
10 am till 8 pm at Kolkata and
Howrah city.
The initiatives are supported by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) India
country office, INFOSEM (Integrated Network for sexual Minorities) and The Humsafar
Trust – Mumbai.

The Organization:

PLUS (People Like US) Kolkata is an initiative to work for the overall health, rights and
development of Males who have Sex with Males, Transgender and Male or Transgender
Sex Workers with special focus on youths. The vision of PLUS is ‘To create a space
where males who have sex with males (MSM) and male to female transgender (TG),

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Male or M to F Transgender (MSW or TSW) can live with dignity and rights’ in West
Bengal.
People Like US views the health concerns of MSM,
M to F TG, MSW and TSW as a broad issue,
inclusive of not just physical health concerns, but
also psychological and social health aspects.
The overall Aim/Goal of the TI Project is to provide
appropriate and targeted drop-in centre and
outreach-based sexual health and related services
for 400 males who have sex with males in Howrah
with a view to check the spread of STD/HIV/AIDS
among them and improve their overall well being.
The Immediate Objectives is to promote the sexual health of 400 males who have sex
with males in Howrah and reduce and also halt the HIV infection in 2010 -11 through
Community Mobilisation, BCC, Treatment Support, Condom and Lube Promotion,
Linkage and Referral and Enabling Environment through Networking and Advocacy
PROTHOMA- The Transgender shelter home and crisis intervention centre is also
unique of it s kind in the region. PROTHOMA – means first in gendered term.
PROTHOMA is the city’s first or even country’s sole Short term Shelter Home for
Transgender male to female. The aim is to provide immediate and short term services to
transgender male have no place to go to in crisis situations. Even their basic needs may
seem difficult for them to meet.

Shelter Home- PROTHOMA, a 24 hour service is provided where any transgender male
in need can walk in to seek assistance. Basic services like bathing, washing facilities,
health care, savings, counselling, contacting home, etc. are provided here and the
community can confidently move in to avail of these and move back to the home
whenever he/she feels like. PROTHOMA’s aim is to develop the Tans male in a holistic
manner - physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially, culturally and financially
thus enabling them to settle comfortably in society. The idea of the shelter home came
while people like Us (PLUS) Kolkata conducted a situational assessment report on
Luanda dancer (the dancing boys’ community migrating to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for
performance and prostitution) with the support of UNDP TAHA. Later this year with
financial support of UNDP India, PLUS initially started a pilot drop in and Short term
residential home in Kolkata. In the pilot phase we have seen it’s just been creeping up
and up, because there’s no place for them to go while in crisis. Sleeping on the streets
makes them targets for harassment, robbery, violence and even police persecution. As a
community they are highly visible and are more likely to be abused, have complications
in school, have suicidal thoughts and drug and alcohol abuse problems. Foster care can be
equally problematic.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2010

In 2010 World AIDS Day focused on HIV and

human rights. The theme is “Keep the light on HIV
and Human Rights” that highlights the need for

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innovation, vision and focus on HIV and Human Rights violations. In order to
commemorate World AIDS Day at civil society Level, We at PLUS Kolkata organized
and conducted various types of activities in Kolkata and Howrah city as follows

Howrah city

Observing World AIDS Day 2010, PLUS Kolkata Howrah project office have organised
two day long campaign and IEC stall at Salkia, Bandhaghat Natun Mandir, Howrah on 1st
and 2nd December 2010, from 10am to 8 pm both the day. The Size of the stall was (8ft X
7 ft) 56sq.ft

The main activities were

Howrah Fixed Stall for 2 Days (10AM to 8PM)

Days 2 Days (1st Dec and 2nd Dec 2010)
Timing 10 Hours Per Day
Stall Fixed Stall with Buladi Maskot / Flex / Banner / Poster
Venue Salkia, NatunMandir (Bandhaghat)
Activities Open Play / Street Drama
Film Show
Folk Song
Quiz
Advocacy at Local Level
Announcement of HIV/AIDS Awareness Messages
Distribution of Leaflet / Card from WBSAPCS and MANAS
Bangla and PLUS kolkata
Distribution of Red Ribbon
Condom Demonstration and Lube Awareness
Distribution of Free Condoms
Social Marketing of Condoms
Special
Attraction Open Play by 'Community People'
Cultural Show viz. Dance

The objective of the program was to create

awareness on HIV/AIDS and to impart
knowledge and information on importance of
HIV and AIDS Testing among General
Population and targeted group of MSM and
TG population. As the NACO funded MSM
Targeted intervention project has a limitation
to reach out to only a subpopulation of MSM
who
are
anal
receptive, the larger community who
occasionally and may be regularly having sex
with other males are excluded and awareness

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and services are are not adequately reach to those population and the campaign is also
focus to those hidden and hard to reach and invisible MSM community. Moreover the
‘Community People’ of the Project is a highly dispersed population with a huge range of
diversity from ‘visible’ and ‘identified’ to ‘invisible’ and ‘hidden’ (viz. Koti, Hijra,
Dupli, M to F Transgender, M to F Transsexual, Gay, Homosexual, Bisexual, etc.
including Male or Transgender Sex Worker (MSW or TSW) in each of the sub-groups).
The Project stressed on anal sex also as high risk behaviors while communicating to
target population to break the ignorance that they are not going to have STIs, HIV/AIDS
through male to male sexual behavior. Our Inter-Personal Communication for masses
focused on anal sex and oral sex along with peno-vaginal sex. We were trying to mobilise
the use of condom friendly non-oil based lubricants with each anal sex to make it much
safer. Hence, we were also seeking
support to make lubricants available with
condoms for all anal sex.
PLUS Howrah TI Project World AIDS
Campaign projected as an overall sexual
health campaign in the mainstream society
whereas as a Male to Male Sexual Health
Project in the target population. However,
as visibility with respect to de-
stigmatisation of the sexual health issues
of MSM is also required, hence, the
emphasis on different communication
strategy for advocacy at different levels
and World AIDS Day is one unique opportunity to serve this purpose. Hence, the main
objective was to spread awareness of HIV and the risk of anal sex and oral sex along with
peno-vaginal sex and the risk reduction methods of HIV infections.
More than 500 people each day visited the IEC stall and interacted with the peer
educators, staff and volunteers. The total numbers of free distributed condoms are 11760
pcs and total 240 people were learning how to use condom correctly through
demonstrations. In the evening films such as My Brother Nikhil, 68 pages, Aarshinagar,
Being kothi being male films are also screened.
Similar kind of campaign and information booth
was also set up at Kolkata near PROTHOMA – the
transgender shelter home and crises intervention
centre. The activities are as follows
 Distribution of IEC
 Performance by transgender community
 Street play
 Audio-Visual show
 Free condom Distribution
 Social Marketing of condoms
 Candle light Vigil

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Through the program overall 700 people were outreach and condoms were distributed.
The condom social marketing is a
big hit as from that program the
volunteer were able to sale 1000
pack of condoms.
One the eve of World AIDS Day
the inmates and volunteer of
Prothoma organized the candle light
vigil not only for the people and
friends they have lost but also
remembering those who are face
brutal violence due to there gender
identity and performance.
The Stall opens every day in the
morning and various activities such
as talk show, quiz, correct condom demonstration, street play were organized though out
the day as in the evening both the day the community people participated in various
cultural performances using infotainment media for spreading the awareness.

Acknowledgement:

We sincerely acknowledge the generous support and guidance provided by the Humsafar
Trust – Mumbai, along with INFOSEM and UNDP India for giving us the opportunities
for organizing the two day long event and campaign. We acknowledge our friends,
inmates, staffs, peer and volunteer to participate the event and male it success.
Thank you very much to you all and keep the spirit going on!!!!