“What do we mean when we say ‘economic violence’? Might it have something to do, for example, with the lack of access to housing or to a healthy environment? Might it have something to do with being excluded from the labor market or being unable to hold on to a job? How does that impact our bodies? How does it impact our day-to-day lives, our relationships, our ability to sustain ourselves day-to-day?
Most transwomen work in the informal sector, though a few manage to access the formal sector. Within the informal sector, 33% perform sex work, and 28% engage in other types of informal work—they are street vendors, for example. Within the formal sector, 16% are maquila workers or work in banana or coffee plantations, and they are not unionized. It is unclear if they have to give up being true to their gender identity in order to work in these jobs.
Hegemonic western medicine focuses on counteracting diseases, but good health is more linked to the wellness industry, which promotes consumerism and an illusory, and not at all consistent, relationship between the mind, the body, and the planet, which belies the true connection between the three.