She considers herself lucky to have a teaching job. She says many transgender Guatemalans must make their livings solely as sex workers.
But she disguises her sexual identity to protect that position, and she, too, works as a prostitute at night at a bar…
“In the beginning it was out of necessity because I was
still getting my teacher’s license,” she said. “But
now, it’s also because it’s the only place that I can really be a
woman.”
She said she would never want her students to know she works as a
prostitute. “I try to make sure they never find out.”
Fearing repercussions, she would not allow The Associated Press to use her teacher name or interview others at the school.
Fearing repercussions, she would not allow The Associated Press to use her teacher name or interview others at the school.
Activists say transgender people are particularly at risk in
violent Guatemala, where two
transgender women were murdered in July. The U.S. State Department
mentioned such violence in its 2011 report, saying Guatemalan police had
failed to investigate two earlier killings of transgender people in the
country.
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