Oral

This year, as part of a growing effort to help the American Public Health Association (APHA) advance its social justice mission, the LGBT Caucus and Women’s Caucus (in relationship with APHA) have collaborated to develop this ground-breaking, special invited session for the APHA annual meeting which focuses on intersectionality & the health of women of color. This panel will examine the health of heterosexual women of color, sexual minority women of color, and trans women of color. This session has been organized as an open panel discussion that links the applied research, service, and advocacy work in the field of public health focusing on health disparities among women of color, with the innovative, theoretical work happening in fields such as women of color feminism/womanism, critical race/ethnic studies, LGBT studies, and social justice movements. By linking these disciplines, we hope to create a dialogue that focuses on the health of women of color who are at the crossroads of multiple oppressions with special attention paid to low-income/poverty-class women of color. In keeping with this year's theme, presenters will share a) information about the global factors impacting the health of low-income, women of color and b) effective strategies that can be implemented locally to increase positive health outcomes among heterosexual women of color, sexual minority women of color, and trans women of color.

Session Objectives: Discuss the socio-structural, inter-personal, and intra-psychic factors that affect the health of low-income women of color. Differentiate how multiple oppressions affect various races/ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities among women of color in “differentially disempowering” ways. Demonstrate that sharing knowledge, resources, skills, strategies, and experiences under the rubric “women of color” can be politically useful and effective for increasing positive health outcomes among heterosexual women of color, sexual minority women of color, and trans women of color.