Transgender EuroStudy â Legal Survey and Focus ... - ILGA Europe

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Introduction In this report we refer to people who may identify as transgender, transsexual or gender variant in any way as ‘trans’. This is because the population of people who identify as a different gender to that assigned at birth is very diverse. Members are particular about the terms that they wish to be addressed by, thus trans is an easy, inclusive shorthand. The term trans is not ideal, but is used to embrace those who cross (or have crossed) the conventional boundaries of gender; in clothing; in presenting themselves; even as far as having multiple surgical procedures to be fully bodily reassigned in their preferred gender role. Trans has become the term of normal use since the coining of it by Press for Change for their 1996 mission statement: “seeking respect and equality for all trans people”.
13 April 2008 How Many Trans People are There There has been much speculation estimating the number of transgender and transsexual people and the conclusion is that there is simply no publicly available statistical data on which to make a firm statement. Estimates range from about 1 in 11,000 to as many as 1 in 20 in the male population and the ratio between those assigned male at birth seeking gender reassignment and those assigned female, is estimated at 3:1 (van Kesteren et al 1996). One of the problems is the criteria by which the population is measured – those who have had surgery Those who are on hormone replacement therapy What about trans people who do not seek medical diagnosis and treatment What we can claim is that the evidence from this report strongly suggests that the trans population is growing exponentially and the ratios between those assigned male and female at birth are probably as near as 1:1. This is explored in more detail in this report. In this research project we have endeavoured to be as inclusive as possible of different ‘types’ of trans-identified people. However, the members of the population who seek to be reassigned 3 to their preferred gender are the most apposite to this report as the process of undergoing gender reassignment involves frequent contact with health service professionals. Indeed, a trans person has to be ‘diagnosed’ as transsexual by health practitioners in order to gain access to gender reassignment treatment. Although trans people have recently been included with the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) population routinely in policy and research on ‘LGBT’ healthcare, there are differences between the groups. The Medicalisation of Trans The most significant issue is that trans people (who wish to undergo gender reassignment) have to gain access to medical treatment in order to realise their identities. This places trans people in a position with healthcare providers which has all the hallmarks of a difficult relationship: power and control; desire and need coupled with vulnerability; pathologisation and protocol. The findings of this report document the consequences of this problematic configuration. Further, transsexualism is classified as a mental disorder. This is found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV for the American Psychiatric Association (APA); the International Classification of Diseases and the World Health Organisation (WHO), although it is acknowledged that the symptoms improve with hormone treatment and surgery. The location of transsexualism in the category of mental disorder further mars the relationship between trans patients and practitioners, as the qualitative findings of this report illustrate. 3 Gender reassignment refers in an indirect way to the fact that every person has their gender ‘assigned’ at birth – usually by a cursory glance at the genitals to see if there is a presence or absence of a penis. To have one’s gender ‘reassigned’ means undergoing a legal or judicial process where the State formally recognises one’s ‘new’ gender. In many European States this process is only possible after bodily reassignment by surgery.
Page 2 and 3: Transgender EuroStudy: Legal Survey
Page 4 and 5: Contents Acknowledgements Foreword
Page 6 and 7: Acknowledgements This was very much
Page 8 and 9: Executive Summary The Legal Survey
Page 16 and 17: Transgender and Transsexual Legal C
Page 22 and 23: Public Funding for:[1] Psychotherap
Page 24 and 25: Results of the Legal Survey In this
Page 28 and 29: Health Policy in the EU: the Impact
Page 36 and 37: Data Analysis
Page 40 and 41: A Profile - the Online Survey of Tr
Page 50 and 51: Trans People Accessing Healthcare
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Transgender EuroStudy: Legal Survey
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71 April 2008 FTM: Female-to-male,
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73 April 2008 References Antoniadou
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75 April 2008 Shanta, R., M. P. H.
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77 April 2008 I identify as In what
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79 April 2008 Do you have any savin
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81 April 2008 Section 2 Healthcare
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83 April 2008 Was this from any of
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Transgender EuroStudy â Legal Survey and Focus ... - ILGA Europe