Now we'd like to talk about gender-specific care and supports. Like people of all genders, trans and gender-diverse people need access to supportive primary care and other basic health services. This access can be improved by training and supporting the existing system of care to gain competency and culturally safer care. Some transpeople require gender-specific health care related to transition or gender-affirming goals. This can include hormone therapy, supportive counselling related to transition, gender-affirming surgeries, voice training and assessment related to some of the more irreversible interventions.
Trans individuals who require gender-specific health care, such as hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries, frequently experience barriers to this care. Stigma, discrimination and gender-based harms in our health care system result in avoidance of care, directly contributing to health disparities. Improvements are needed in timely access to endocrine care, surgical care, psychosocial care and peer support services for transpeople and their families. In order to make a measurable difference to this issue, we believe a strategy is required. We've been lucky enough to have resources to work comprehensively in B.C.
In order to make national improvements, we suggest that federal opportunities for enhancing the work be funded. One idea would be to work with a group such as CPATH to create a well-supported national network of provincial and territorial coordinating bodies or key service providers and programs responsible for trans health work. For example, these groups can include Trans Care BC and Rainbow Health Ontario. There are strengths in every province. It would be of great utility to be able to leverage these strengths to improve care across the country. The national network, with peer support and convening dollars, could create an aspirational framework and/or national standards to support provincial and territorial work to ensure that trans populations are served equitably across Canada.