Education, work and health: realities of transgender women living in Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

In Colombia, being free and identifying with a non-heteronormative identity that breaks with masculinity entails violations of the primary rights. For transgender women, such violation induces them to adopt self-care practices that allow them to protect their integrity and fight for their rights. This article was based on a qualitative study with 5 transgender women. They were interviewed in depth so that we could learn about their main self-care practices and the support they received during their transformation process. Stories were obtained associated with the inequity in access to dignified work opportunities, which would allow them to disassociate themselves from care work in activities associated with transgender people, and obtain economic resources that would facilitate entry into education and affiliation with a health system that assumes the procedures of transition in a responsible manner. Thus, eliminating the possibility of risks for transgender women by obtaining the desired image and their well-being. In conclusion, we offer some reflections about the debts that the State and the institutions have about transgender women today in order to guarantee education, health and work to them.