SNP members have voted in favour of a motion to improve access to gender affirming healthcare in Scotland.
The motion, which was proposed by the SNP’s LGBT wing Out for Independence, was passed with overwhelming support at the party conference on Sunday afternoon.
It looked to remove the need for a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria before someone can access gender affirming care, as well as calling for additional training to be given to healthcare practitioners to assist them with supporting trans patients.
Emily Cheung, co-convener of Out for Independence, spoke in favour of the resolution.
“Gender dysphoria is a remnant of a time in psychiatry when trans people were seen as a disease, as a problem to be solved,” she said.
“Trans patients find this diagnosis and the process of seeking it as degrading.
“How can we, when the NHS is in crisis, how can we possibly continue to justify putting resources into a process that benefits no one?”
The full text of the motion is below:
Conference recognises that the ICD-11 has removed Gender Dysphoria from its list of mental health conditions, and the move away from pathologizing trans identity this represents.
Conference also recognises the extreme waiting times and significant distress that needing to seek this outdated diagnosis imposes on trans people trying to access Gender Affirming Care.
Conference calls for Gender Affirming Care to be brought in line with all other models of healthcare for adults, and operate off of an informed consent model without additional need for a psychiatric diagnosis.
Conference further calls for additional training and support to be given to GPs and other healthcare practitioners to assist them with supporting their trans patients.
