Healthcare supports for transgender children; A children’s rights perspective from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office

Access to multidisciplinary health services and supports for transgender children and children who are questioning their identity, is a children’s rights issue.

Having ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ireland is obliged under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of all children living in Ireland, including transgender children and children who are questioning their identity.

Among the rights engaged in this context are children’s right to:

• non-discrimination (Article 2);
• have their best interests treated as a primary consideration (Article 3);
• life, survival and development (Article 6);
• have their views heard and given due weight (Article 12);
• preserve their identity (Article 8);
• access to information (Article 17); and
• the highest attainable standard of health (Article 24).

In light of Ireland’s obligations in this regard, access to appropriate multidisciplinary health services and supports for transgender children and children who are questioning their identity, is a children’s rights issue.

Decisions relating to the provision of healthcare services and supports to transgender children and children who are questioning their identity should be driven by a commitment to respect, protect and fulfil these children’s rights.

 

Multidisciplinary health services and supports should be developed in the State

It is vital that the State develop and provide multidisciplinary health services and supports, within the State, for transgender children and children who are questioning their identity, and their families.

In February 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Ireland ensure transgender children’s access to adequate healthcare.

When asked about the State’s implementation of their rights in the provision of services, transgender children have told the OCO about the challenges they face in accessing health services in Ireland. The OCO is concerned by the current absence of health services for these children within this jurisdiction.

The commitments in the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy 2018-2020, and the Programme for Government 2020, to develop health services and supports for transgender children and children who are questioning their identity within Ireland are positive. However, the OCO is very concerned by the delays in the establishment of such services in Ireland.

 

Multidisciplinary health services and supports need to be appropriately resourced to respond to the needs of each child in relation to their gender identity

Services for transgender children and children who are questioning their identity, and their families in Ireland should be developed in such a way as to ensure the provision of a tailored response to the individual needs of each child in matters relating to their gender identity. In this regard, the State should allocate resources that can support a multidisciplinary, individualised approach to the provision of supports and services and ensure that relevant healthcare professionals are appropriately trained and their capacity developed to work in a child-sensitive manner.

 

 

 

• August 2023
• Type: Advice
• Topic: Health