fra-2014-being-trans-eu-comparative_en

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey dataTable 17: Seeking psychological or medical help for being a trans person (%)Yes No Don’t knowSample(n/N)Trans women 84 15 1 1,122Trans men 88 12 0 576Female cross dressers 27 68 5 255Male cross dressers 23 71 6 300Transgender 56 43 1 1,048Gender variant 16 82 2 707Queer/other 11 70 19 2,571EU trans average 39 52 9 6,579Question: TR1. Have you ever sought psychological or medical help for being a trans (transgender) person?Note: N = total trans respondents sample; n = subgroup sample.Base: Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.Source: FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012Reasons for not looking for psychological ormedical helpHalf of those respondents who have not sought psychologicalor medical help indicate that they do not want orneed help. Male and female cross dressers, gender variant,and queer/other respondents are the most likelynot to want/need care. But one third of trans men andtrans women also report not wanting psychological ormedical help (Figure 53).“So I consider myself as a man with feminine tendencies ina female body. When I talk to others about this, they thinkI am mad. You are either male or female, basta! Well, so I amnothing.” (Female cross dresser, 32, Denmark)Earlier in this report it was found that four in five transrespondents perceive that in the country where theylive they have to prove a medical/psychological diagnosisof transsexuality/gender dysphoria/transgenderismor similar to change their official documents tomatch their preferred gender. One third (32 %) of alltrans respondents said they did not want or need psychologicalor medical help. This implies that they arede facto excluded from the right to change their legalgender marker if they wish to do so. In other words,based on the survey respondents’ perceptions, one inthree trans persons has no access to legal gender recognitiondue to the legal requirement for a medical/psychologicaldiagnosis.Trans respondents indicate a number of other reasonsfor not seeking psychological or medical help besidesnot needing it. Prominent among these are not daring,not knowing where to go and fearing prejudice onbehalf of care providers (Figure 54).Experiences with care providersThe experiences of trans respondents with care providersare in most cases rather positive, with the exceptionof general medical practitioners. General practitionersare often the first care provider a trans person wouldcontact and/or have a longer care relationship with.According to the survey one in five respondents hasexperience of general practitioners who did not seem towant to help or outrightly refused to help the respondents(Figure 55).In total, 18 % of trans respondents would considergoing or have already gone abroad for medical treatmentto alter their physical appearance. This includesbuying hormones from other countries over the internet(Figure 56).84