As a transgender woman Rachel knows only too well what it means to experience stigma. Her family disowned her when she was just 12, and in order to survive she lived off a rubbish dump and sold sex for food and money. Despite her experiences Rachel is a strong woman who is proud of her identity: "Let's be proud of who we are, being a sex worker, being a trans-woman, but first and foremost a human being, with dignity and integrity." She has founded Voice of Hope, a community-based organisation in Walvis Bay, Namibia. She plans to support her peers to improve sex workers knowledge of their human rights and to increase their access to sexual health and HIV prevention services. I am Rachel is her personal story.
Still and multimedia production: Gemma Taylor Footage and multimedia production: Rino Pucci
Gemma Taylor is a portrait and documentary photographer and writer, working for international NGOs and UK charities and on long-term personal projects.
Frontline AIDS (formerly the International HIV/AIDS Alliance).
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