For the International Day of Action for the Depathologisation of Trans* Identities Principle 17 publishes the first results of the survey on experiences in Dutch transgender health care. The whole report will be published one of these days.

Research shows respondents are wary of of the enormously long waiting times of often around a year before getting medical attention in the Amsterdam and Groningen gender clinics (the only ones in the Netherlands). Also strong dissatisfaction is reported the treatment by staff regarding chosen names and pronouns and their lack of understanding of non-binary identities.

In a non pathologising setting where trans* health care is like any other type of health care, it would illogical to want to treat everybody the same. Not every trans person has the same medical needs. Health care users should be able to get their health care also elsewhere and health care providers would not be so ignorant of trans* peoples’ lives and health issues.

Also with the upcoming evaluation of the Dutch law on legal gender recognition we demand a full depathologisation by removal of the required referral letter. After this all reason to require a pathologising mental health diagnosis before administering medical transition related health care is even more out of order than it is already now.