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

This research project, commissioned by ILGA-Europe, follows a similar large scale
study we conducted in the UK in 2006. 1 During July 2007 and December 2007 the
researchers undertook a mixed quantitative/qualitative approach to collecting
and analysing information on transgender and transsexual people’s experiences
of inequality and discrimination in accessing healthcare in Europe. This was a
large undertaking given the timescale; even more so as we had to recruit
translators from 13 different countries as well as conduct focus groups and get
translations done. This report is an analysis and summary of the results obtained
and it details the barriers that trans people face when accessing healthcare.
The work undertaken is certainly the largest and most comprehensive data
collection on trans people’s lived experience to date. One can never claim that
research data is entirely representative of a community; even less so when the
community being studied consists of many small sub-communities as is the case
with trans people. However, as will be detailed in the data analysis section of this
report, the statistics we have on the profile of respondents do generally match
data of the population of Europe (for example the percentage of those with a
disability). Other statistics that do not match the European population (for
example educational attainment) are consistent with the large scale study of
trans people in the UK – hence it could be argued that these features may be
anomalous to trans people. We are confident then, that the size and quality of our
sample of the population is sufficient to draw upon for our claims and that the
experiences of trans people accessing healthcare detailed in this report are
credible.
Foreword
1
Whittle, Turner and Al-
Ami Engendered Penalties:
Transgender and
Transsexual People’s
Experiences of Inequality
and Discrimination 2007.