Thammasat University students are cordially invited to participate in a free Zoom seminar about rethinking trans healthcare in the 21st century.
The event will be held on Wednesday, 19 January starting at 9pm Bangkok time.
It is hosted by King’s College London, the United Kingdom.
The Thammasat University Library collection includes some books about different aspects of trans healthcare.
Students may register to receive a Zoom link here.
For further information or with any questions, please write to
jess.harris@kcl.ac.uk
The speaker will be Adam Shepherd, whose qualifications are noted on the event webpage:
This webinar will be led by Adam Shepherd, who completed his Master of Public Health at King’s College London and is currently pursuing his medicine degree. His research focuses on trans people’s experiences in healthcare and the discursive construction of gender. After the presentation there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.
This webinar will provide an insight into the history of transgender people in medicine as well as reflecting on topical issues faced by the trans population, such as inappropriate curiosity and the need for structural competency among healthcare workers. Combining his experiences as a trans man, researcher, and medical student, Adam will explore how healthcare professionals can adapt their practices to better meet the health needs of trans people. This is an update of the webinar Adam led for HSCWRU in 2020.
Thailand and trans healthcare
The United Nations has noted recent advances in health services for transgender people in Thailand. Academic research on the subject has also discussed newly available healthcare innovations.
TU students may be aware of The Thai Handbook of Transgender Healthcare Services published in 2021 by the Center of Excellence in Transgender Health, Chulalongkorn University.
It is available for free download at this link.
As the handbook states,
Implementing transgender health service is not an easy task, due to the predominant bias that the society holds against the concept of gender diversity and the way of life related to being a transgender person. Thereby, both transgender people and health service providers who offer transgender health services are often faced with stigma and discrimination, built on the lack of understanding or the myths that being a transgender person is a personal choice, and such choice should not be supported. Transgender health service providers are also often seen as the medical ethic challengers for promoting transgender health, of which the society believes to be a disorder or based purely on cosmetics purpose. In fact, the knowledge, skills and art of transgender health service implementation is a specific science that requires scientific references based on the research studies, practices, and accumulated extensive experiences. Stigma and discrimination against the work on transgender health, therefore, could be a drawback and discouragement for people who work in this field. Sharing the same will to improve the quality of trangender health services in multidisciplinary fields, members of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, Tangerine Community Health Clinic of the Institute of HIV and Research Innovation (IHRI), The Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights, and The Asia Pacific Transgender Network, have worked together to develop “The Thai Handbook of Transgender Healthcare Services”. This handbook was designed to be used by both transgender individuals and transgender health service providers. It consists of 16 chapters, starting from the background and rationale for transgender health service provision in chapter 1. Then, chapters 2 to 5 provide comprehensive details on gender affirming services, from gender dysphoria diagnosis to gender affirming hormone treatment, gender affiriming surgery, and voice feminization in transgender woman. Chapters 6 to 14 provide details on other related health issues and services that often found and needed among transgender people, such as, HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), mental health, transgender children and adolescent care, reproductive health, cancer screening, long-term effects of hormone treatment, and substance use. Then, Chapter 15 provides details on how to combine and turn all the knowlege into implementation. Lastly, Chapter 16 provides the perspective on social context, laws and culture that relate to transgender people’s lives in Thailand and how they affect their health.
Clearly, this handbook is a comprehensive guide that could be translated into real practice. The arrival of this handbook could also be seen as a revolution to reimage the unclear perception about transgender health service implementation by making it visible and tangible. Furthermore, it will give transgender health service providers a sense of fulfillment, that their works are being recognized and appreciated by professionals in all fields. This handbook will also serve as a key tool to advocate the right to health, which is one of the fundamental human rights, for transgender and gender variant people both in Thailand and and in the Asia-Pacific region…
The Asia Pacific Transgender Health Blueprint by the Asia Pacific Transgender Network estimates that 9 – 9.5 million transgender people live in the Asia and Pacific region. In Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health reveals that the approximate number of transgender women in Thailand are 313,747. There is no clear and conclusive data on the number of transgender men in Thailand, and the research on transgender men is limited. Because Thailand has not yet passed the gender recognition law, the transgender population are faced with gender-based stigma and discrimination in many dimensions. The research on “Trans Respect Versus Transphobia Worldwide” conducted by the Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights and Transgender Europe3 revealed that in Thailand 6% of transgender people were physically abused by their families, 29% were sexually abused at schools, and 22% were rejected from employment because of their gender identity. These factors have largely affected transgender people’s mental health and quality of life. The same research also showed that almost half of the transgender people that participated in the research had never visited a doctor to discuss about their health in general, including the plan for safe gender transition.3 Moreover, when visiting healthcare facilities, almost half of the transgender people in the research had experienced stigma and discrimination by health service providers based on their gender identity. For example, being treated with disrespect, called the wrong title or pronouns, or being asked invasive or insensitive questions. These issues have posed a huge impact on transgender people’s access to healthcare. Furthermore, the Ministry of Public Health’s report on transgender people’s access to HIV and STIs services also found that about 15% of healthcare providers had negative attitudes towards transgender women who sought for HIV-related services. These negative experiences were circulated and communicated within the community, making many transgender people feel uncomfortable, worried, and reluctant to seek healthcare services.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)