The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) awarded $540,000 to a transgender sex worker for “trans outreach” of HIV.
Cecilia Gentili, a transgender individual who operates Transgender Equity Consulting, was given $540,000 for fighting HIV in 2021.
Gentili is a former sex worker who lived illegally in the United States for a decade.
Since 2021, the organization has received $180,000 a year, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The group will continue to receive funds through 2026.
Gentili told Law360 in 2021 that sex work is a “service.”
“Sometimes it’s not even about the sex. Sometimes it’s like supporting a person, you know, supporting somebody in other ways and listening to people.”
