Social sciences and transgender : the highlights since the first EPATH conference

Background
Social sciences offer a forum in which trans issues can be examined critically from a variety of ontological positions. Trans-originated social science scholarship has proved crucial in driving forwards improvements in healthcare, framed via critiques of the social inequalities that trans people continue to face.

Aim(s)
The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the development of trans social sciences since May 2015, focusing on those that have particular relevance for health care decision makers.

Results
A number of studies were identified via the searches. These included those relating to specific areas of concern, such as victimisation and hate crime, and those that took a more analytical perspective, for instance in addressing the way that the institutions of medicine and the law shape the healthcare options available to trans people.

Conclusion
Whilst there are variations across countries, findings show that trans people still face a range of indirect and direct barriers to full citizenship within society. This phenomenon has a number of implications for healthcare providers. These include issues concerning access to gender confirmation treatment, for example economic barriers; and concerns with other areas of healthcare provision and trans-sensitivity amongst healthcare providers. However, there are also a broader range of concerns, that relate to the minority stress that trans people can experience due to living in a gender binaried society, and to understanding ways in which gender binarism can be challenged