Walter Bockting is the President Elect of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health or WPATH for short. WPATH formerly known as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (HBIGDA) is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders.  So when I saw an interview for Dr. Bockting I was all ears.  He has some interesting points to share both on transgender people and on HIV within our community:

• How large does WPATH estimate the transgender community is? “The entire transgender population is likely to be much larger, perhaps 1 in every 2,000″
• Is the rate of HIV among transgender persons high? “It may be closer to between 2-12% that are HIV-positive, but again that is why the CDC recently agreed to track transgender people better because we’ve got to get a better picture of the prevalence of HIV in this population. “
• Is the rate of alcohol and drug abuse higher in the transgender community than in the general population?
  Yes, it is higher among certain subgroups of the transgender population. For some, this is to cope with rejection and anticipated rejection. Others may use substances to overcome inhibitions related to shame and fear about being transgender.

It’s an interesting interview and an important read since WPATH is so influential in the lives of so many transgender persons, whether they know it or not.   You may read the full interview at the web site, “The Body” at this link to the interview here.