What the 2016 free event on practicing actual transgender health and human rights (FREE PATHH) has taught us

FREE PATHH was a symposium on healthcare for trans people and their human rights, held at the 18th of June 2016. It was set up as a parallel symposium to the WPATH sympoium in Amsterdam, as a protest against the exceptionally... [ view full abstract ]

FREE PATHH was a symposium on healthcare for trans people and their human rights, held at the 18th of June 2016. It was set up as a parallel symposium to the WPATH sympoium in Amsterdam, as a protest against the exceptionally high entrance fees. For with such fees, transgender people are effectively shut out, which is a rather unfortunate course of action for a symposium on transgender healthcare.

At the FREE PATHH symposium the transgender perspective was front and centre. The high quality programme focussed on trans healthcare and human rights issues that are relevant to transgender people, but which often get insufficient attention. Naturally, the starting point of FREE PATHH was self-determination: having full control over any medical treatment (if one wishes medical treatment in the first place).

All speakers, panelists and workshop leaders who contributed to the programme of FREE PATHH were experts in their own field. All of them also spoke from personal experience as a healthcare user. This just shows that both go very well together, and in fact are an added value to their expertise.

The Free Event on Practicing Actual Transgender Health and Human Rights (FREE PATHH) offered a high quality programme, and focussed on trans healthcare and human rights issues that are relevant to transgender people, but which... [ view full abstract ]

The Free Event on Practicing Actual Transgender Health and Human Rights (FREE PATHH) offered a high quality programme, and focussed on trans healthcare and human rights issues that are relevant to transgender people, but which often get insufficient attention.

FREE PATHH aimed to:
– gather and to exchange available information on trans health care and human rights.
– discuss the state of the art of trans health care and human rights.
– discuss the point of view of health care users and human rights users, on both the current situation and the wishes for the future situation.
– be an accessible event for anyone who wished to participate (f.e. no entrance fee, wheel chair accessible, bilingual).

And all other issues that did come forward from FREE PATHH.

Giving the limitations in time, buget and number of volunteers, FREE PATHH was decided to be a one day symposium. According to the organising team it was essential that FREE PATHH symposium should be accessible for anyone... [ view full abstract ]

Giving the limitations in time, buget and number of volunteers, FREE PATHH was decided to be a one day symposium.

According to the organising team it was essential that FREE PATHH symposium should be accessible for anyone who wished to participate without external limitations to participate. Therefore, as a matter of principle FREE PATHH:
– had free entrance.
– was accessible to wheelchair users (including an accessible toilet).
– was bilingual (Dutch and English).

FREE PATHH offered a series of (plenairy) lectures in the morning (with simultaneous translation into English), a series of parallel workshops in the afternoon (each session participants could choose between an English and a Dutch workshop) and the day closed with a (plenairy) panel that looked back at both the WPATH and the FREE PATHH symposia.

The outcomes of FREE PATHH have been measured by: – the number of participants attending the FREE PATHH symposium. – questions, reactions and feedback of participants at the lectures, workshops and panels of FREE PATHH.... [ view full abstract ]

The outcomes of FREE PATHH have been measured by:
– the number of participants attending the FREE PATHH symposium.
– questions, reactions and feedback of participants at the lectures, workshops and panels of FREE PATHH.
– questions, reactions and feedback of participants in personal communications during the breaks and after the formal programme of the day.

FREE PATHH provided us with a lot of results, as all lectures, workshops and panel offered new and interesting insights. The information, experiences and new insights were gained both via the official programme as via personal... [ view full abstract ]

FREE PATHH provided us with a lot of results, as all lectures, workshops and panel offered new and interesting insights. The information, experiences and new insights were gained both via the official programme as via personal discussions at informal moments.

The most striking and significant results of FREE PATHH are:
– People are very sick of the lust for protocols of the gender teams in the Netherlands, especially of the VUmc genderteam in Amsterdam.
– People have a great need for self-determination within medical care: choosing what treatment they want, in what order they want it, if they want it at all.
– People have a dire need for information, f.e. on alternative options and pathways, next to the strict protocols at the gender teams.
– People want to be taken seriously, as a person and as transgender client, f.e. to be addressed properly by medical professionals and by society in general.
– People want wider acceptance in society and better job opportunities.

The main conclusions that can be learned from FREE PATHH are: – FREE PATHH delivered a far-reaching signal that can't be ignored, despite the limited time, resources and volunteers. Both individual trans activists, as... [ view full abstract ]

The main conclusions that can be learned from FREE PATHH are:
– FREE PATHH delivered a far-reaching signal that can't be ignored, despite the limited time, resources and volunteers. Both individual trans activists, as organisations like GATE and TGEU, as participants of the WPATH symposium supported FREE PATHH.
– The difference in scale and number of visitors between FREE PATHH and WPATH is very large. This shows a important difference in resources and power, that has emerged since the beginning of trans health care, and still exists today.
– Essential knowledge about trans health care and human rights is only known in a limited group. There is a great need for objective and critical information from users, for and by transgender people.
– At FREE PATHH many important topics have been discussed. Many other important subjects didn't fit into the programme. In short, a lot is wrong in trans health care. And many other issues simply can be (and should be) much better.
– With 80 to 100 participants FREE PATHH clearly fills a need. That's why international trans activists have decided that other FREE PATHH's will be organised next to the EPATH symposium (2017) and to the WPATH (2018).