World Professional Association for Transgender Health Biennial Symposium

The Sexual Health and Rights Project and the Law and Health Initiative sponsored two panel sessions at the 21st Biennial Symposium of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

The first session dealt with the rights of transgender persons in prison and pre-trial health settings, including to continuing gender reassignment and hormone therapy.  Medical and legal experts agreed that existing medical standards governing transgender health should be revised to better address the particular situation of detained and incarcerated transgender persons. 

The second session dealt with the legal pre-conditions for changing gender identity, including the requirement in many countries that transgender persons undergo surgery and/or sterilization in order to change their gender status (or, in some cases, their legal name). Participants discussed the importance of moving beyond the traditional model of a “sex change” to one that emphasizes choice and the ability to change one’s gender without potentially invasive physical changes. 

The sessions produced policy recommendations which will inform the next version of WPATH's Standard of Care and Ethical Guidelines, articulating the organization's professional consensus about the psychiatric, psychological, medical, and surgical management of gender identity disorders.

WPATH is an international, multidisciplinary professional association whose mission is to promote evidence-based care, education, research, advocacy, training, and public policy with respect to transgender health.