Though prostitution in Peru is not illegal, many trans women are oftentimes taken by police on the basis of not being able to show their identification cards. Here Kiara is taken by “serenazgos,” or municipal police officers, in a nightly raid. According to a study by the Peruvian Cayetano Heredia University, serenazgos and the Catholic Church are the two most homophobic institutions in Peru.

Jordy, left, gives her friend a shoulder to cry on after she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her with another trans woman. According to anthropologist Ximena Salazar the structures and traditions of gender are very rigid in Peruvian society, thus making it very easy for society to discriminate those who do not fulfill traditional roles. "The family is the first big social space where the female trans is going to have a fight.” Because of this constant fight, many leave home and move to Lima where they know there is a network already waiting. “[Sex work] is a social world complete with friends and enemies. Their real family rejects them, so their chosen family is also there,” said Salazar.

“Identity in general is very strong. Nobody can deny you it, because it’s inside of you,” said Salazar. According to Salazar, when people deny who they are, many problems such as self-rejection and self-destruction begin. After work Danuska and her friends go out dancing at a club that features a night specifically for people from the LGBTQIA community.

A trans woman gets ready for the evening in her room. The majority of trans women in downtown Lima live in communal homes as they also face housing discrimination. Because of their stigmatization, people refuse to rent to them. Of the few options they have, they are taken advantage of and are charged extremely high rates for rooms that are rundown and oftentimes infested with cockroaches.

Josue, left, Oriana's on-and-off-again boyfriend, leans in to kiss her before she leaves for work. Though he says that living with her helps him lead a better life, he also talks about how their relationship is not right under the eyes of God.

Briss's room is left in shambles after a fight with her boyfriend, who punched the mirrors and threw furniture. Though their relationship is violent, Briss and her boyfriend have been dating off and on for several years. Eighty percent of homicides of trans people worldwide occur in Latin America.

Weighing only 80 pounds, transgender sex worker Piojo, 31, suffers from AIDS and Tuberculosis, a perilous combination. Her friend, Salome, right, also a transgender sex worker, helps Piojo sit up as the viruses have greatly weakened her body. After three months of fighting, Piojo passed away on March 29, 2015. Nearly one year later, Salome also passed away from Tuberculosis. According to a study by Peru’s Cayetano University, 30 percent of trans women in Peru are infected with HIV, a reality that is directly linked to “high rates of sex work and drug abuse, which are themselves linked to extreme marginalization and lack of other options for survival.”

Oftentimes trans women play volley ball or other games such as Bingo before work for extra money. Since many of them live together in communal houses it is easy to organize afternoon games.

Tamara comforts her mother, Evila, right, after fighting. Though many trans women don't have support from family, Tamara has a very close relationship with her mother. Though her mom visits when she can, Tamara often spends her days alone. "Sometimes I think about leaving prostitution behind. But, because I'm alone, it's really expensive," said Tamara, who sometimes skip meals in order to pay her room.

Nearly every week, Yasuri visits the Baquijano Cemetery to leave flowers and pray at a Peruvian saint's tomb. She said that she can no longer stand prostitution. "It makes me sick," said Yasuri, who dreams of having a family and getting married one day.

Yasuri, 24, right, who sleeps next to her boyfriend, moved to Lima at 17 because of bullying at home and school. Her mother, who she says is homophobic, would often beat her and her brother once cut her hair to the scalp. Though her boyfriend and her have been together for two years, she often says she is going to end it because he becomes violent with her when he drinks or uses drugs.

Colombian trans woman, Karen, right, is comforted by her mother, left, who flew to Peru after learning that Karen was shot by a police officer. That evening, police officers insulted Karen and her friend during a nightly raid, which targets trans prostitutes who are arrested without reason. Angry, Karen's friend threw a rock at their vehicle. When Karen turned to run, she was shot in the stomach. "In this country for the fact of being trans, you are not valued as a human being. Even though I was between life and death, I was still considered guilty," said Karen.

Paloma, right, is held back by her boyfriend who tries to restrain her after she punched his nose out of jealousy. Like many, their relationship is unstable and oftentimes violent.

Tamara quit school in the 5th grade because her classmates constantly teased and insulted her. At 16 she began sniffing glue for a couple years to deal with depression and loneliness. At 18 she began prostituting. Here, Tamara, left, does a line of cocaine with a friend. Substance abuse is very common among this community as a way to cope with the harsh work and living environments to which they are exposed.

A detail of Tamara's bed.

Along with other members of Peru's only transgender cumbia dance group, Briss, center, waits backstage before performing at a local LGBTQ night club. Though Briss says it's hard to live as a trans person in Peruvian society because of the psychological abuse, she said dancing for the Tranxgresoras strengthens them and helps them to push forward.

Danuska, left, and Oriana, right, talk with a young girl and her mother, not pictured, on the street while experiencing down time during work.

Asumi, left, and Oriana, right, stand in the light of a police car during a nightly raid.

Danuska, left, holds hand with her friend as she passes by on her way to work.

Though Tamara has looked for other work she says that people think they have diseases and are vulgar, so they are turned away. "I want to have a job with somebody I know, someone who trusts me. Because otherwise, they discriminate you, the look at you up and down when you're looking for work."

After many hours of drinking and using drugs, Tamara, right, and her mother Evila, left, argue about her work on the streets.

Tamara says that it's not easy being trans because of all the aggression and humiliation they face. Though she has grown to deal with it, she says that even when walking down the street people will insult her. "I have suffered so much, I don't understand why we have to suffer so much.”

After resisting sexual relations with a client without a condom, Tamara was injured with a broken glass that he threw at her face. "You have to be careful with clients because they're not clients, they are bad men that can cheat you, that can take you somewhere. They treat you bad, they beat you, they rob you…I have suffered through that a few times," said Tamara in a previous interview.

Tamara, who always keeps a collection of saints in the corner of her room with a lit candle, often talks about how she will not live past 30.

Trans women are extremely marginalized and discriminated against in Peruvian society. Persecution begins early, causing them to abandon their studies and families. With few options or support, many practice prostitution. As sex workers with no legal protections, they're at greater risk of violence and sexual and substance abuse, and are less able to protect their health. Here, trans women wait for clients on the street, left, while a family passes by, right.

Tamara died due to complications with HIV and Tuberculosis on January 11, 2017, less than a month after her 30th birthday. Evila, her mother, cries next to Tamara's casket. In Latin America, which leads the world in homicides of transgender people, most trans women die or are murdered before they reach 35 and HIV prevalence is nearly 50 times higher than the general population.