Blog

2018: Understanding experiences of violence faced by men who have sex with men and transgender women with partners met through social media and location-based dating apps in Delhi and Delhi NCR regions

The proposed study aims to survey location-based-social-dating app-using men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) on Hornet, Facebook, and Whatsapp, to understand their experiences of violence, blackmail, extortion, and threats on the platform in partnership with Hornet. We further seek to conduct this study only among users in Delhi and NCR regions as data exclusive to this city remains to be conducted. As Delhi is the national capital, understanding patterns and perpetrators of violence in the [...]

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2018: Interconnections between Syndemics, Stigmas and Sexual health among sexual and gender minorities: A qualitative formative research

Aim of the Project To explain health inequalities among MSM and transgender women in India through a syndemic framework. Study implemented by The Humsafar Trust in Mumbai with support from PGIMER, Chandigarh and funded by The WellcomeTrust.   Objectives To explore the presence of psychosocial health conditions (e.g., problematic alcohol use, depression) as well as resilience resources among MSM and transgender women. To understand the experiences of stigma and discrimination faced by MSM and hijras/transgender women. To understand the influence of intersectionality and [...]

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2018: Provider and Community PrEP Awareness Intervention

The project between The Humsafar Trust (HST) and Dr. Rupa Patel, biomedical HIV prevention expert and assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis will revolve around community member and provider PrEP awareness intervention development and testing.The following are the objectives of this study: Evaluate the acceptability, feasibility and optimal modes of delivery of PrEP education and prescribing tools to KPs and providers in India. Inform the design of a pilot intervention study to evaluate the impact of the [...]

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2018: Analyzing Yaariyan – an internet-based e-safe space facilitating access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services among MSM and transgender youth in Mumbai, India

Youth bear a greater burden of HIV with a high proportion of new infections diagnosed among them. MSM and transgender youth are thus at a higher risk and most-at-risk population. In India, unfavorable socio-legal environments add to the challenges of being LGBTQ and increase vulnerabilities of MSM and transgender youth to HIV/STIs by limiting access to healthcare and information. Existing anti-sodomy law section 377 is used to criminalize LGBTQ, majorly acts as a deterrent for LGBTQ to “come out” [...]

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2018: Evaluating the Acceptability and Feasibility of HIV Self-testing among Key Populations in India

The global policy landscape (e.g., UNAIDS “90-90-90” and WHO’s “Test and Treat”) is focused on elimination of HIV through effective linking of populations at risk or with HIV into the prevention and treatment care continuum.  In this direction, focus on India and Africa becomes pertinent given that the region accounts for three-fourth of the global burden of HIV.  Moreover, the epidemic in the region is concentrated in key populations (KPs) such as Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), [...]

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2017: Project SWAG: Identity, Attraction and Trust: How MSM Compose and Assess Location-Aware Dating/Hookup App Profiles in Mumbai

Location-based social applications (LBSAs) make it easy to meet nearby others for a variety of purposes, including anonymous and sometimes risky sex. As smart phones spread globally, moreover, there is evidence that LBSA use by men who have sex with men (MSM) is also spreading. From a scholarly standpoint, a growing stream of research argues that understanding how MSM use and present themselves on LBSAs is important to better understand the interplay between novel technologies, identity, and interactions among [...]

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2017: Transcend Study: Transgender Needs assessment focused on educational, healthcare and socioeconomic needs.

Our research project aimed to extend beyond the existing data on transgender populations, which is mostly centred on either legal issues, hijra culture, or health related issues such as HIV prevalence and access to SRS. Specifically, there is minimal information on the kinds of socioeconomic and academic needs that transgender populations have. We aim to diminish this gap by developing a needs assessment to ascertain community needs as well as develop more reliable data on the various transgender communities [...]

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2016: Counselling Manual for Parents of LGBT: Research Study

A brief overview of The Humsafar Trust’s counselling data from September 2015 to May 2016 revealed a gap in knowledge on how to counsel parents of LGBT individuals. This gap manifests itself in dangerous, life-threatening and ineffective means to ‘treat’ or ‘cure’ homosexuality, rather than providing care and support. This could include conversion therapy, which is an unscientific practice offered to homosexuals/ transpersons for ‘converting’ them to being ‘normal’. Practices may range from electroshock therapy to pills to aversion [...]

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2015: Understanding the Impact of the Supreme Court judgment on Section 377 on LGBT communities

Section 377 of The Indian Penal Code (IPC Sec. 377) criminalized consensual anal sex by deeming it unnatural and “against the order of nature”. The British introduced this law in 1860, based on Victorian morals, to criminalize any “not procreative” sex. On July 2, 2009, The Delhi High Court read down IPC Sec. 377 on grounds that it violated Articles 21, 14 and 15 of The Indian Constitution which grants every citizen right to life” and “equal opportunity, regardless [...]

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2015: Zero Meters Away: India HIV Prevention/PrEP Needs Assessment Survey Protocol

Objective and Rationale: The objective of this research study was to obtain crucial information regarding HIV prevention needs including PrEP for online MSM/TG across India, a group that is largely out of the purview of most targeted interventions and not accessible by traditional outreach approaches. Our hypothesis was that, using an online survey tool distributed via MSM/TG dating apps/websites, Facebook, and possibly other social media channels commonly used in India, we can efficiently reach a large and diverse population [...]

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