The Pillars of Advocacy: A Multifaceted Campaign for Human Rights
Dinah Bons' activism unfolds across multiple fronts, each addressing a facet of systemic inequality. However, these fronts are not isolated; they are interconnected by a common thread of anti-racism and a commitment to the most marginalized within each community.
In the transgender rights movement, Bons' advocacy centers on two fundamental principles: the depathologization of trans identities and the right to self-determination. She maintains that "self-determination and human rights must be central in trans-specific healthcare."
Her political stance is radical and clear, advocating for the abolition of the concept of gender in municipal records as a step toward full self-determination.
In a memorable speech, she illustrated the harm of pathologization through the story of a friend who was forced to perform stereotypical femininity to access hormones, a process she described as humiliating and disempowering.
This personal narrative demonstrates her ability to translate lived experience into powerful political arguments for systemic change.
As an activist for sex worker rights, Bons holds leadership positions in European and global networks, including the European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance (ESWA, formerly ICRSE) and the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP).
Her work in this field is distinguished by its intersectional approach, systematically focusing on the "inclusion of BPOC sex workers" and the specific vulnerabilities of migrants.
She participated in a panel on "Sex Work and Racism," where the colonial and anti-immigration origins of anti-sex work laws were explored, demonstrating how these struggles are deeply intertwined.
Her advocacy consistently links sex worker rights with broader issues of migration, racism, and colonial legacies, challenging the compartmentalized approach of traditional advocacy.
Bons' trajectory in HIV/AIDS activism is an evolution from being a young person diagnosed in an era of hopelessness to becoming a prominent voice in global HIV policy.
Her speech at the 2018 International AIDS Conference was a defining moment, where she presented herself as a "proud trans woman of color, long-term survivor and trans HIV and sex work activist" to challenge those in power.
Her main message is a critique of tokenism and a demand for meaningful participation. She laments that GIPA (Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS) principles are often ignored.
At the local level, her commitment is practical, as demonstrated by her membership in Amsterdam's H-TEAM, a collaborative body working toward zero new HIV infections.
Globally, she served as UNAIDS PCB NGO Delegate for Europe in 2022, representing European civil society perspectives in global HIV strategy and decision-making.
Anti-racism and decolonization are not separate pillars in Bons' work, but the fundamental ideology that integrates all other aspects. She is described as a specialist in "decolonization and anti-racism," whose work focuses on "decolonizing structures and perspectives."
In an interview on "Gender Justice," she critiques the whiteness of conventional activist movements:
Her response to this exclusion is to build organizations, like Trans United Europe, that explicitly center Black and people of color and focus on "anti-racism."
Bons strategically uses her position within various movements to force a confrontation with racial inequality. She doesn't simply add "race" as another issue, but argues that the failure to address racism fundamentally undermines the goals of transgender rights, sex worker rights, and HIV advocacy movements.
Observing exclusion in established activist spaces, she actively questions their legitimacy: "How can they defend our rights if they don't invite us or know our needs?"
Rather than abandoning these movements, she takes leadership roles within them while building parallel structures that center BPOC experiences. This dual-track strategy—critiquing from within and building from the margins—represents a sophisticated model of institutional change, aimed at redesigning the architecture of European human rights activism to be fundamentally anti-racist.
Taking leadership roles in established organizations to challenge their practices and priorities from positions of influence.
Creating new organizations and structures that explicitly center BPOC experiences and anti-racist principles.
Working to redesign the architecture of European human rights activism to be fundamentally anti-racist.
An analysis of Bons' career reveals a strategic rejection of single-issue activism. Her simultaneous leadership in organizations addressing trans rights, sex worker rights, HIV/AIDS, and anti-racism is not coincidental but represents a deliberate political statement.
These issues are inextricably linked and cannot be addressed in isolation. Her work with Trans United Europe, for example, explicitly focuses on Black and people of color (BPOC), directly linking trans rights with racial justice.
Throughout all her advocacy work, Bons consistently centers the most marginalized within any group:
This approach ensures that solutions address the needs of those facing the most severe forms of discrimination and marginalization.
Dinah Bons' advocacy work has gained recognition across multiple sectors and has influenced policy at local, national, European, and global levels.
Her work has directly influenced EU policy on trans rights, global HIV strategy through UNAIDS, and European sex worker rights advocacy.
Created tangible improvements in the lives of marginalized communities through direct services, advocacy, and institutional change.
Helped build and strengthen intersectional movements that center the most marginalized voices and experiences.