The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) 28th Scientific Symposium: “A Gender Diverse World in Global Unity,” was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from September 25 to 30. The Symposium was led by WPATH President Dr. Marci Bowers, a pelvic and gynecologic surgeon trans woman who has delivered 2,000 babies and performed 2,000 vaginoplasties for transgender women. It gathered over 1700 attendees, from trans activists to trans and allied health professionals, with the majority attending on-site and about 300 attending virtually.
The proposed agenda focused on 6 main thematic sessions:
- chronic conditions
- social determinants of health
- law, policy and ethics
- mental health
- education
- global health
Andreo Gustavo, GATE’s Communications Officer was invited to speak at the opening ceremony and highlighted GATE’s work in combating anti-gender movements and advancing trans rights globally.
A major takeaway from the symposiums is the urgent need to develop a comprehensive toolkit for practitioners and institutions that provide gender-affirming care to combat anti-gender and anti-trans movements. This toolkit would offer guidance on how to respond to harassment, manage potential threats, and prepare them to respond effectively to attacks from anti-trans movements. Several sessions raised awareness of the Human Rights violations of trans and gender diverse people, especially on health rights, the state of gender-affirming care policies worldwide and the ethics and responsibilities of trans health researchers. You can learn more about what was discussed in some of the sessions:
- A Global Review of Gender-Affirming Healthcare Policies.
- On Being a Target: Responding to Hate and Harassment in Trans Healthcare
- Global Perspectives & Political Directives on Adolescent Gender Care
- Anti-Trans Healthcare Policymaking: Ethics and Responsibilities in Trans Health Research
- Radical Progress through Trans-led Grassroots organizing and community-centered global health partnerships