About US
Since 2012 the Dareecha Male Health Society has assisted the Transgender/key population based in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Pakistan has religious, legal, and social stigmas attached to Trans Sexuality & other cultural barriers that challenge our work in helping the Trans community access up-to-date sexual health information.
We believe everybody – regardless of their sexual orientation, sexual behaviors, and gender identities – deserves health education and treatment that is up-to-date and delivered without discrimination.
Our aim is to reduce new HIV infections and improve the lives of those affected already by HIV/AIDS. To do this we educate our community on HIV/AIDS & STIs so that they can understand prevention and treatment options. Our outreach workers distribute condoms and register people in need of our services. So in summary, we aim to empower our community by providing the information they need to take control of their own sexual health through prevention education, testing for infections, counseling, and treatment services such as PrEP.
We are increasing knowledge and understanding of HIV and AIDS and STIs, so our community can understand prevention, make informed choices, and live healthily.
And we not only focus on sexual health. We also advocate for the well-being and safety of the Trans community. For example, there are more than 80,000 transgender and key populations in Rawalpindi and suburbs and today there are 70,000 registered with us… and counting… We still have so much work to do, given the high statistics of violence and harassment. Dareecha tries to log all incidences of violence to Trans community.
But unless we completely decriminalize and turn around our current abhorrent societal constructs our society in its ignorance or willful discrimination might actually be fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs. We need more funding, more common sense prevention policies, and more fighting against the stigma attached to Transgender people, which make us particularly vulnerable to sexual health problems. Anti-Trans bias further enables the spread of HIV by discouraging many in our community from getting tested or treated for HIV for fear of harassment.
Mission
We strive for the advancement of the social and health rights of Transgenders/ key populations by strengthening community systems and developing community led interventions to focus on addressing discrimination and stigma. We also work on creating an enabling environment by advocating for equity, justice, safety, health and well being of Transgenders /key populations and individuals.
Basic Health
S.T.I. Information:
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are infections you can get by having sex with someone who has an infection. These infections are usually passed from person to person through vaginal intercourse, but they can also be passed through anal sex, oral sex or skin-to-skin contact. STIs can be caused by viruses or bacteria. STIs caused by viruses include hepatitis B, herpes, HIV, and the human papilloma virus (HPV). STIs caused by bacteria include chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
For further information regarding:
- HIV/AIDS Basics
- HIV Transmission Basics
- Treatment of HIV & Aids
Please visit World Health Organization