How gender-affirming health care for kids works in Canada – CBC

Transgender youth and their health-care providers say the field is widely misunderstood

Nov 16, 2023

Robyn Hodgson says she’s watched struggling young people heal, grow and ultimately thrive because of gender-affirming health care.

“It genuinely is profound,” Hodgson, a registered nurse and co-ordinator for the transgender and non-binary program at the InterCommunity Health Centre in London, Ont., said.

“I’m in my 27th year, and I’ve worked in a lot of areas — and this has been the most rewarding area that I’ve ever worked in.”

Gender-affirming health care — an approach that affirms a trans person’s gender identity instead of trying to change it — is endorsed by medical associations in Canada and around the world, including the Canadian Psychological Association and the Canadian Pediatric Society.

But it’s also a type of health care that’s widely misunderstood, especially as it pertains to the treatment of young people, say the medical professionals who provide it and the patients who receive it.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/gender-affirming-care-youth-1.7021529