L. Leigh-Ann van der Merwe

L. Leigh-Ann van der Merwe is a self-identified South African coloured transgender woman. She is the founder and director of Social, Health and Empowerment Feminist Collective, an organisation working to bring the political voice of transgender women into research, praxis, and advocacy. She has worked extensively on research projects focussed on transgender people, including the first bio-behavioural survey to determine HIV prevalence among transgender women in South Africa. Leigh-Ann has been published on transgender and HIV issues in peer review journals. She uses her voice as a researcher to conduct advocacy and influence policies with local and international stakeholders. She holds a postgraduate diploma in public health from the University of Western Cape as well as a masters in public health from the University of South Africa.