By IANS,
New Delhi : Members of the Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative (TAI) project Tuesday said that welfare provisions such as a transgender welfare board and a separate budgetary allocation for the community, would go a long way in successful implementation of the programme amongst the marginalised community.
At a conference to discuss their successes, Lakshmi Bai, project director of TAI, said that for effective implementation of a project amongst marginalised communities like sex workers and transgenders, it is important to address their socio-economic concerns.
“To implement a project with the core group like sex workers, it is important to understand other socio-economic factors that influence their lives, especially their vulnerability, poverty and self-esteem. Such an intervention can only be successful if it focuses on disease prevention and improves the quality of lives of the marginalised,” Lakshmi Bai said.
According to the TAI workers, Tamil Nadu has an added advantage because the government supports issues related to the marginalised communities.
“It is the only state to have a transgender welfare board and have separate budgetary allocations for this community over the past three years,” Bai said.
Further, the observance of “Aravanigal Dinam” or “Transgenders’ Day” on Jan 18 every year has bridged the divide between the community and society to a large extent.
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, MP from the state who was present at the event, added: “If they (sex workers and transgenders) are on the streets, we have to ask why. It is only by accepting them into our families and our homes can we truly think of giving them a better life”.
The TAI-Voluntary Health Services project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Avahan programme that has been working on the issue of HIV since April 2004.