Necropolitics, experiences of using HIV prevention methods, and narratives of blame among transgender adolescents and young adults

• Grant number: 24/10921-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: February 29, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Eliana Miura Zucchi
• Grantee: Ayra Zaine Rodrigues Urbano
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas e da Saúde (CCSAS). Universidade Católica de Santos (UNISANTOS). Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to demand strategies like combined prevention, which integrates biomedical, behavioral, and structural approaches. Discrimination and social vulnerability heighten the risks associated with the epidemic, especially among adolescents and trans individuals. Reformulating health policies to consider specific contexts and lived experiences is crucial for reducing new infection cases and improving the quality of life for these populations. Necropolitics, a concept proposed by Achille Mbembe, reveals how the state decides who lives and who dies, impacting the trans population through violence and neglect. This research aims to understand the decision-making process and the use of HIV prevention methods by trans adolescents and young adults, utilizing the concept of necropolitics to analyze the processes of oppression and resistance within HIV prevention policy. This qualitative, ethnographic-oriented study will be conducted within the framework of community-based participatory research, involving trans youth in Santos, SP, alongside NGOs, social collectives, and health professionals. A community committee will be established to support and validate all research stages. The study will involve semi-structured interviews and focus groups, as well as participant observation in meetings and social gatherings. Data will be analyzed through iterative thematic analysis using MAXQDA software. The theoretical frameworks of necropolitics and intersectionality will guide the interpretation of the data, exploring how power structures shape the sociocultural and political factors influencing HIV prevention among trans adolescents and young adults.