ALLYSON: A WOMAN WHO WRITES HER OWN STORY

When Allyson arrives at the PASMO Honduras offices, she is wearing her usual broad smile. Her positive attitude radiates towards everyone who is around her. Describing her current work as the Deputy Director of AFET (The Trans Feminist Association) where she works to defend the rights of trans women, Allyson thinks back to her childhood. She could never imagine how far she would come after everything she had lived.

When she was a child, Allyson was drawn towards feminine gender expressions and enjoyed wearing makeup very much. But, because her sex at birth was male, her femininity was strongly rejected by her family and peers at school. "They were cruel for many years. They criticized me and used to tell me I brought shame on my family and those words were so painful. I wore make-up and they forced me to remove it. I also studied in a military school where I suffered a lot.”

Due to the unbearable relationship between Allyson and her family, she left home at age 15 and became a sex worker to survive, exposing her to the risk of STIs and HIV on daily basis. It was here, a few years later, that Allyson met a PASMO outreach worker from an HIV prevention program supported by USAID, finally giving her easy access to HIV prevention information, products(condoms and lubricant) and services such as regular, stigma-free testing.

“It was during this time of my life that I decided to never stop studying and learning.. I found organizations like PASMO where I learned how to take care of my own health and prevent HIV by getting tested regularly and using condoms. They also identified my leadership skills, and I began referring people to HIV tests.”

After her experience working with PASMO, Allyson felt compelled to join the “Ilusión y Fantasía” group in which gay men, trans women, people living with HIV and other community members of La Lima participated. She also joined “Colectivo Color Rosa” where she was trained on topics such as access to justice services. “PASMO helped me become this version of Allyson Rodriguez, the woman you see now. After all the support, strengthening and prevention, I am a new woman.”

Ahora como subdirectora de AFET (Asociación Feminista Trans), Allyson tiene un cargo que le ha permitido desarrollar su liderazgo y luchar por los derechos de las mujeres trans, sintiéndose segura de sus habilidades y de su valor como persona. También como parte del autocuidado que ella pone en práctica, ahora es usuaria de los servicios de profilaxis preexposición (o PrEP, por sus siglas en inglés) recientemente lanzados por PASMO en Honduras como parte de la oferta de servicios de prevención para el VIH bajo el proyecto de USAID “Servicios de Prevención en VIH” en Centroamérica.

“My family now says they’re proud of me because I have fought battles, especially against stigma and discrimination.”