Trasinscnuacht: November News from Trans Healthcare Action
Trans Healthcare Action
BLOGCOMMUNICATIONSLast edited 11 November, 2023
THA UPDATES
THA Participates in Council of Europe Trans Healthcare Event
On 18 October two members of Trans Healthcare Action participated in the Council of Europe event ‘Advancing Healthcare Access for Trans People in Europe’.
The event highlighted how different patient experiences and models of care are throughout Europe, sometimes even within a single country. Healthcare provided in Europe ranged from informed consent for all age groups and hundreds of GPs trained in trans care, to models that pathologised trans identities, denied care to young people, disempowered GPs and excluded the trans community from decision-making on reforms.
The event will influence the development of a report into gaps between healthcare provided in European countries and the EU Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations on measures to combat LGBTQ+ discrimination.
TENI in collaboration with ILGA-Europe have released a survey titled “Documenting Trans and Non-Binary Experiences in Medical Settings in Ireland”. The survey was entirely designed and reviewed by trans and non-binary people. Participation in this survey provides and opportunity to contribute to data on barriers to healthcare experienced by trans and non-binary people in Ireland.
On 26 October, the Transgress the NGS campaign led a phone and email picket of the Department of Health.
The community contacted members of the department with two key demands:
That the Department of Health require the National Gender Service to cease discouraging GPs from directly prescribing HRT and providing blood monitoring to trans patients, and
That the department explicitly empower GPs to directly prescribe HRT and provide blood monitoring to trans patients.
Over a hundred emails were sent to the Department of Health, and a high number of phone calls were made. Thus far, responses from the Department of Health have failed to address the issues raised during the phone and email picket.
On 5 November, Transgress the NGS held a meeting to decide future actions. Details about the next action will be posted on the Transgress the NGS instagram.
Trans Healthcare Action stand with Palestine against Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza. Elias Jahshan’s article ‘Pinkwashing: A hidden form of violence against queer Palestinians’ highlights how queer Palestinians and their liberation movement have been erased as part of Israel’s attempt to justify its occupation.
We encourage you to follow and support these Palestinian queer-led organisations:
alQAWS for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society is a civil society organisation that supports the queer community and advances their safety and acceptance. Among many other projects, alQAWS has established multiple community centres, runs a national hotline, and partners with different institutions and organisations to effect change.
Palestinian Queers for BDS is a queer organisation supporting the Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions movement. They can be contacted via email and asked about options for donating.
Queer Asian Pride Ireland Hosts Queer Spectrum Film Festival
This year, Queer Asian Pride Ireland is hosting the Queer Spectrum Film Festival. This will be the first Irish film festival to centre the stories of LGBTQ+ people from around the world.
The all-day event will take place at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre on 25 November.
Rainbow Cities Network has released their first-ever set of policy guidelines advising municipalities on how to better serve the queer community. “Rainbow Cities in Action: Policy Guidelines for Municipalities” provides guidance in policy fields such as health, disability and inclusion, safety, and much more.
What is the Informed Consent Model for Trans Healthcare?
In a medical setting, informed consent is the process by which a healthcare provider outlines the risks and benefits of an intervention to their patient, allowing them to make an informed choice about their care.
WPATH Standards of Care v8 explicitly endorse an informed consent model for the provision of gender-affirming care. Several trans healthcare services in locations such as Malta, Australia and the United States already follow an informed consent model.
Under this model, trans patients do not have to prove the validity of their gender identity or demonstrate particular levels of distress in order to access gender-affirming treatment. Any healthcare provider with relevant expertise can prescribe gender-affirming treatments or monitor the health of trans patients without the need for specialised services. For example, a practitioner qualified to prescribe hormone therapy to cisgender people is also qualified to prescribe it to a trans patient.
A TransHub article goes into more depth on the informed consent model.
**Trans Healthcare Action is proud to announce the launch of Kindred Clinic Cork, the first peer-led trans health clinic in Ireland!** Created in partnership with the Sexual Health Centre, Kindred Clinic Cork is a small pilot clinic that offers care that is free, safe, local, gender-affirming, and de-pathologised to trans adults living in Cork City & County. Services are centred on self-determination, created by and for trans people, to reduce barriers to health and wellbeing that trans people experience. Care is provided by licensed clinicians working within their professional competency, and viewed through the lens of harm reduction. This allows those who face barriers in accessing services to avail of care friendly, community setting.
From our fact-finding journey to Iceland, to our continued advocacy - get the rundown on THA's 2025! Maybe you attended one of our events, saw us at your...
Yesterday, the National Gender Service (NGS) announced that it will be closing its waiting list to new referrals. This closure, with over 2,400 people waiting t...
We are looking to fill volunteer roles across the organisation. Commitment will vary depending on the role, but is generally 4+ hours per month. Most communication and collaboration takes place online, with in-person socials and co-working. To find out more about volunteering with us, email join@transhealthcare.ie.
Have questions about Trans Healthcare Action or requests for partnership, research participants, or media spokespeople? Reach out to us by emailing action@transhealthcare.ie. Keep in mind that we are a fully volunteer team so we'll get back to you as soon as we're able.
