Child Rights International Network: Gender equality
The World Medical Association (WMA), which represents 112 medical associations worldwide, has adopted new rights-based guidelines on health care for transgender people. In the past, some treatment of transgender people has occurred with disregard for their unique needs „and often this has happened with the participation of the physician", said WMA Secretary General Otmar Kloiber. The new guidelines recognise that being transgender is not a disorder and explicitly reject „coercive treatment or forced behaviour modification", a recent statement said. The WMA also emphasises transgender people's right to affordable transition-related care. And while acknowledging that „cultural sensitivities" in some countries may impact access to trans-specific health care, the Association concluded that the basic rights and overall well-being of transgender people should take precedence over any cultural, political or religious considerations. „ want to see appropriate legal measures to protect their equal civil rights," said WMA President Sir Michael Marmot, and urged „national medical associations to take action to identify and combat barriers to care."
Quelle: Newsletter des Child Rights International Network vom 21.10.2015