The Rainbow Mental Health Support Experiences Study – Summary of Findings – is out now!
This fantastic research from Gloria Fraser, with co-design from Gender Minorities Aotearoa, InsideOUT, and RainbowYOUTH, is some of the best research in Aotearoa on Rainbow populations and mental health.
”The average waiting time between first requesting hormone therapy, and first being given hormones, was 47 weeks.
Of the people who saw a mental health professional for an assessment in order to access gender affirming health care:
”68% reported that the person doing the assessment had respected and validated their gender, but 62% said they felt pressure to conform to a dominant narrative during their assessment, e.g. having a binary identity, knowing they were trans from an early age, or feeling “trapped in the wrong body”.
”This suggests that though many individual professionals [are] providing good support to their clients, professionals must still ask outdated questions because of systemic demands.
”Over a quarter of participants who tried to access gender-affirming healthcare had been denied it. The most common reason they were given for this was that they needed to be more mentally well to access care. This was followed by being told they needed to think about it for longer, and needed to lower their BMI or lose weight
Download the full screen-reader friendly PDF of the summary of findings here.
