Press Release

The American Public Health Association passes Transgender Resolution

At its 1999 National meeting the Governing Council of Governing Council of
the American Public Health Association (APHA) passed resolution 9933:  "The
Need for Acknowledging Transgendered Individuals within Research and
Clinical Practice".  The resolution explains what transgender refers to, the
health concerns of transgender individuals (including intersex issues and
the miss-use of Gender Identity Disorder by health care professionals), and
concludes by urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), researchers, and health care professionals to:

1. To identify transgendered individuals as such and not conflate them gay
men and lesbians,
2. To be sensitive to the lives of transgendered individuals and treat them
with respect, which includes referring to them as the gender with which they
identify,
3. To be aware of the distinct health needs of transgendered individuals,
and
4. Make available resources including research funding that will enable a
better understanding of the health risks of transgendered individuals,
especially the barriers they experience within health care settings.

The reasons behind the writing of the resolution (according to Dr. Emilia
Lombardi, the author of the resolution) is that the health needs of
transgender men and women have gone unnoticed by most researchers and health
care workers alike. However, a (slowly) growing body of scientific
literature is confirming many health problems among transgender individuals;
High HIV sero-prevalance among transgender/transsexual women (especially
within trans-women of color), insensitive health care providers, and
violence are but a few of the health issues experienced by transgender men
and women.  The Transgender Resolution passed by APHA will aid those working
to improve the lives of transgender men and women by acknowledging the need
for researchers and health care providers to be more sensitive to
transgender individuals, to acknowledge their gender identity as valid and
not as an aberration, and to promote more research and understanding of the
health care needs of transgender men and women.

The full text of the resolution can be found in the March 2000 American
Journal of Public Health, Vol. 90(3).  Pages 482-484.  It can also be found
at http://www.apha.org/legislative/policy/99policy.pdf, pages 34-36.

Resolution 9933:  "The Need for Acknowledging Transgendered Individuals
within Research and Clinical Practice" was written as a result of a
unanimous membership vote of the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus of Public Health Workers in
official relations with the American Public Health Association.

For further information contact:
Anthony J. Silvestre, PhD, LSW
W: 412.624.5080
[log in to unmask]

or

Emilia Lombardi, Ph.D.
W: 310-445-0874 Ext. 305
[log in to unmask]




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