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.
RESEARCH
TENI Release Survey on Medical Experiences
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.
ADVOCACY
Transgress the NGS Plan Next Action
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.
ADVOCACY
Queer-Led Organisations to Support in Palestine
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.
Aswat - Palestinian Feminist Center for Gender and Sexual Freedoms is a feminist queer movement for sexual and gender freedom for Palestinian women.
This organisation’s website, if still running, cannot currently be accessed. Follow the organisation on Instagram to receive updates.
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.
Finally, the Queer Palestinian Empowerment Network aims to amplify and empower the Palestinian LGBTQ+ community. Follow them on Instagram for updates.
EVENTS
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.
RESOURCES
Rainbow Cities Network Publishes LGBTI Policy Guidelines
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.
THE MORE YOU KNOW
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.