Erika Castellanos, Global Action for Trans Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/12

Erika Castellanos is a transgender HIV-positive woman from Belize residing in the Netherlands. A professional social worker, Erika joined GATE in April 2017 as director of programs. In 2022, Erika was appointed Interim Executive Director; in 2023, she became Executive Director of GATE. Castellanos, Executive Director of GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality), shared her journey from grassroots activism in Belize to global advocacy. She highlighted GATE’s success in removing transgender identities from the WHO’s mental health classifications. She emphasized universal challenges like stigma, discrimination, and access to healthcare. Castellanos underscored the importance of building coalitions across diverse movements, focusing on shared goals to foster dignity and equality. She also discussed advancements in HIV treatment, her personal experience living with HIV, and the transformative impact of U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable). Castellanos advocated for a universalist approach to human rights rooted in ethical responsibility.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we are here with Erika Castellanos to discuss GATE, its work, and its relevance in contemporary conversations. As the Executive Director, my primary question is: what was the origin of your interest in the work of GATE? How did you work your way up to becoming the Executive Director?

Erika Castellanos: Thank you. I want to start by sharing a little bit about myself. My name is Erika Castellanos, and I am originally from Belize. I currently reside in the Netherlands. I began my activism in the early 1990s during the height of the HIV epidemic in southern Mexico.

When I moved back to Belize, I started a project to bring people together to engage in advocacy and create change. I founded the first network of people living with HIV. A few years later, I began working on issues affecting trans and gender-diverse people in Belize due to the legal challenges and criminalization of our identities.

2017 after moving to the Netherlands, I joined GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality) as the Director of Programs. My work involved overseeing the projects we implemented, particularly strengthening the health programs. I brought my background in health initiatives and advocacy to connect our work to the global level. In 2022, I became the Interim Executive Director, and in 2023, I officially transitioned into Executive Director.

The journey from working at the national, regional, and global levels has been fascinating. It has also helped me understand the diverse needs and perspectives of different groups in various settings. My biggest lesson is never to compare one community’s experiences with another in a different country. The issues faced and how they are experienced are always specific to individuals.

Jacobsen: That’s an important point. How do you approach things from a theme-based perspective? A country’s topical issues are highly individualized due to its unique history, demographics, and legal or policy barriers.

Castellanos: Yes, you’re right. While individual experiences can vary greatly, at the thematic level, we can identify broader trends. We can draw distinctions among regions or groups of countries without overgeneralizing or stereotyping their conditions. However, this is a delicate balance. Even within regions or countries, there are often significant differences. For example, a country with federal states may have legal systems that operate semi-independently, which complicates drawing broad generalizations.

Regarding the issues certain marginalized communities face, some challenges are universal, regardless of the country. These include stigma, discrimination, access to healthcare, and issues related to gender identity, laws, and recognition. There is no country in the world where I can confidently say, “This country has perfected it.”

Jacobsen: Do you find political conservatism, social conservatism, religious conservatism, or gender conservatism to be more significant barriers to fair and equitable treatment of individuals in different countries, whether in Belize or the Netherlands?

Castellanos: It’s a complex issue. Different forms of conservatism—whether political, social, religious, or gender-based—can intersect and create significant barriers. These barriers affect access to healthcare, education, employment, dignity, and housing. The impact of these factors can vary in each country, but they all contribute to broader challenges for marginalized communities.

Jacobsen: All these issues are influenced by the factors you’ve mentioned. In some countries or regions, the scale of these influences differs. Still, they are all important factors that affect access to universal human rights and the level of freedom of movement that individuals can enjoy. How do you build coalitions and networks of allied organizations that, on paper, would not necessarily appear to be allies? In other words, how do you work with organizations that might not seem like natural partners but, with a little finesse on particular topics, can collaborate to advocate for more dignified treatment, lobby politicians, or push for policies and laws that promote greater equality and fairness? It’s a tricky question.

Castellanos: It is a tricky question, and there isn’t one universal rule on approaching it. Often, we become consumed by our differences. We create subgroups based on particular similarities and forget the shared humanity that connects all of us. We need to stop emphasizing our differences and focus on our similarities to build coalitions with groups that are not the usual allies or traditional partners.

For instance, you can bring together movements like the climate justice movement, the children’s rights movement, and the trans rights movement. On the surface, their missions may not align, and their specific language or objectives may not resonate. However, when we take a step back and examine the broader goal, we realize that all these movements are working toward improving the quality of life—whether it’s protecting the environment to ensure a sustainable future, advocating for the rights and well-being of children, or providing gender-affirming care to ensure the dignity and health of trans individuals.

We must build on these shared goals and act on the belief—often said but rarely practiced—that we are stronger together. Working together allows us to amplify our strengths while setting aside differences. Differences should not divide us; they should be celebrated as a testament to the unique qualities each of us brings to the table. In my opinion, the world would be a boring place if we were all the same.

For me, the key is to step back and ask: What is our end goal? What is the outcome we are all striving for? When we recognize that many of us are working toward the same outcome—ensuring people are happy, living good-quality lives, enjoying stable jobs, and raising healthy families—it becomes easier to find ways to collaborate.

Jacobsen: I appreciate that perspective. What would you consider your most successful campaigns and advocacy efforts through GATE? What would you attribute the success of those initiatives to?

Castellanos: One of the most significant achievements through GATE was the revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO), which removed transgender identities from the chapter on mental health disorders. This followed a similar milestone years ago when homosexuality was removed from that chapter.

This was a groundbreaking success because, under WHO guidelines and the ICD-11, trans people are no longer classified as mentally ill. They no longer require a mental illness diagnosis but are instead recognized through the lens of human diversity. This shift was monumental in the history of our activism. It opened doors for individual autonomy and access to essential services. It also facilitated legal recognition, enabling trans individuals to enjoy basic rights, such as attending school, opening bank accounts, obtaining driver’s licenses, and owning homes as equal citizens within their countries.

Those are the kinds of opportunities that are equalized and opened when we remove these pathologizing practices of mental health diagnosis. That success was achieved through years of hard work collaborating with partners, feminist organizations, and leading member states worldwide. It also involved bringing people together to advocate for change. Importantly, we do not always need to be the sole champions for trans people—having other voices join us in championing the way forward is a key element of success.

Jacobsen: You’ve also done significant work around HIV awareness and education. What is the current state of this issue? I am active on the activist side and less likely to be engaged with the research. How is progress on the front of destigmatization, socially and through the mediation of symptomatology for those affected? And what about advancements, perhaps even on the frontier of potential cures?

Castellanos: Science has advanced enormously in recent years. I was diagnosed with HIV in 1995. I come from a time and place where there was little medication, and I attended funerals almost every other day as friends were dying. At that time, there was little to nothing we could do because medication was unavailable. When the first antiretrovirals (ARVs) came through, we celebrated.

Despite the severe side effects of those early medications, they brought hope. Over the years, we have seen incredible advancements. What was referred to as a “cocktail” of numerous tablets has now been reduced to one daily for many people. That is remarkable. Today, we are seeing the development of long-acting treatments, such as injections that can be taken every two months or every six months, as well as medications that might only need to be taken once a week or once a month. These breakthroughs were unimaginable 10, 15, or 20 years ago.

We are on the verge of ending HIV as an epidemic. I am cautious when using the term “ending HIV” and always clarify it as “ending HIV as an epidemic” because that should be our goal. The world, humanity, and the United Nations have set goals to achieve this by 2030. Unfortunately, we are significantly off track, primarily due to inequalities—inequalities in access to newer tools, newer medications, and the systemic inequalities that continue to drive the epidemic.

Despite these challenges, I am confident that as new tools are developed, people living with HIV will live longer and enjoy better quality of life. I remain hopeful for a cure. We have already seen several cases of a cure. Still, these are not yet replicable on a mass scale due to the treatments’ severity. However, just having those cases gives hope to all of us living with HIV.

Another major development that has brought immense hope in recent years is U=U—undetectable equals untransmittable. Scientific evidence has proven that when someone has an undetectable viral load, they do not transmit the virus. This is a huge breakthrough on many levels, including reducing stigma, self-stigma, and fear.

I am married and have two children. My husband is HIV-negative, and we have been together for years. He has remained HIV-negative because I am on treatment and undetectable. I want to see my children grow up, have their children, and see my grandchildren. U=U gives me this hope and peace of mind. I know I can live without the fear of transmitting the virus, which is transformative.

Until recently—and I say this rightly so—when two adults have consensual sex, HIV transmission was often considered the responsibility of both individuals, not just one. Even so, as a person living with HIV, I remember always carrying a small fear in my mind. U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable) has given me peace of mind. The scientific evidence behind it and the fact that the WHO has publicly supported it has changed how we view HIV. It also emphasizes the urgent need to put people on treatment. If we want to end the epidemic, we must ensure treatment is accessible and affordable for everyone—not just for those in wealthy, high-income countries.

Jacobsen: I live in Canada. While Canada doesn’t always get things perfect, it tends to do fairly well on progressive human rights issues. Canada typically avoids extremes, whether falling into obsequiousness on one side or denialism on the other, particularly regarding important identity issues. How do you see human rights as part of a unified vision, not only through GATE but also through your own life? Specifically, how do you approach a universalist perspective on human rights—one rooted in the principle that while we’re happy to see individuals anywhere enjoy their full rights, we also strive for everyone, everywhere, to experience the same?

Castellanos: That’s an excellent question. Many good things are happening in various parts of the world. I would love to see more progressive countries that embrace, respect, and uphold human rights serve as models for others to replicate. One of the big questions I still wrestle with—and for which I don’t yet have a complete answer—is ensuring that marginalized groups are protected. By marginalized groups, I don’t mean just trans people; it could include indigenous communities, people who use drugs, people with low incomes, or others who are vulnerable in different ways.

I see it as an ethical responsibility—when we have privileges that others do not—to bring at least one person along with us, hold their hand, and ensure they can enjoy the same freedoms and rights. Even in countries that are often considered progressive, there are still marginalized groups experiencing significant challenges. For example, there isn’t a single country where I feel women are in the best possible position. Inequalities persist—whether it’s in salaries, opportunities, or representation. In some places, it’s indigenous communities; in others, it’s the LGBTQ+ community.

Living by principles of respect and shared ethical responsibility is essential. Upholding human rights for everyone is a duty we must all share. Despite the challenges, I remain hopeful. The world can be scary at times, but it can also be profoundly inspiring when you hear good news—a policy breakthrough, a government change, or a community shift. These moments give hope to individuals and the rest of the world. We need more examples of good things happening.

Jacobsen: Erika, thank you for the opportunity and your time today. 

Castellanos: Thank you as well. Have a great evening.

Jacobsen: You too. Take care.

Castellanos: Bye.

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