On World Health Day yesterday, the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) urged the government to better care for the health rights of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people.
World Health Day is commemorated on Apr. 7 annually, the founding day of the WHO, to raise awareness about global health issues and the importance of well-being.
TAPR said in a statement that the theme of this year’s World Health Day is “My Health, My Right,” focusing on the “right to health” as a fundamental human right, and that people around the world should all have access to quality health care.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
While Taiwan’s healthcare system is relatively advanced, focus group interviews conducted by the alliance of nearly 40 transgender people over the past two years showed that healthcare support for TGD people is still seriously insufficient, and the medical environment is not very friendly toward them, it said.
Many TGD people need medical services and care, including mental health support, hormone therapy, top surgery and gender affirmation surgery, often needing to visit many outpatient departments, the TAPCPR said.
Many of the treatments are also not included in National Health Insurance coverage, including hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgery, so TGD people who cannot afford the high cost of medication are forced to purchase contraceptive pills as a replacement, it said.
Citing the Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8 (SOC8), published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health in 2022, the TAPCPR said it could serve as a guidline for health care professionals to provide safe and effective care, and assist them in optimizing TGD people’s overall well-being and self-fulfillment.
The alliance said that the SOC8 no longer limits itself to the medical “diagnosis” of gender dysphoria or transgender, but pays more attention to overall care for TGD people’s gender identity and implementation.
The SOC8 also recommends that healthcare systems should provide medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare for TGD people, it said.
Moreover, it said access to affordable medical treatment and resources should be improved to prevent TGD people from having to buy drugs, hormonal injections or silicone injections from unreliable sources.
The TAPCPR said it recommends healthcare professionals use language in healthcare settings that uphold the principles of safety, dignity and respect for TGD people.
It also said that the TAPCPR should discuss with TGD people about the language or terminology they would prefer to be used.
The alliance said that this year it launched a safe and professional online consultation platform through the Line app on which TGD people can ask questions about medical, legal, physical and mental care problems, which would be answered by TGD-friendly physicians, lawyers, psychologists and other experts.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS