LGBT homeless people, nomadism and contexts of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS

This article aims to refl ect on the contexts of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among the homeless LGBT population, based on fi eld research that sought to analyze their life trajectories, conducted in downtown Sao Paulo. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with homeless LGBT people, four of them with gays, two with lesbians, three with bisexual men, one with a transvestite and a one with a transsexual woman. Analysis showed the presence of a nomadic form of sociability associated with the removal of links with workplaces, the family and school, living on the streets and the frequent use of psychoactive substances, related to heterosexist bias in families, schools and workplaces, but also to a resistance to the ideals of attachment present in these institutions. In relation to HIV/AIDS, this study shows that homelessness is characterized as a condition defi ned by a synergy of situations of discrimination and violence, strongly related to each other, that increases vulnerability to HIV infection, while hindering the linkage to health services and custody of antiretroviral medication use, preventing adequate treatment in cases of illness from AIDS.