Trans and non-binary well-being survey 'one of the best tools for change'
Wednesday, 31 August 2022
A second survey on the health and wellbeing of transgender and non-binary people is an important opportunity to measure improvements and ongoing challenges for the community, researchers say.
The Counting Ourselves survey was first conducted in 2018, led by Dr Jaimie Veale, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Waikato and president of the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa.
The previous research findings included high levels of participants wanting but not being able to access gender-affirming healthcare – including 67% of trans men wanting chest reconstruction surgery; 36% of participants avoided seeing a doctor because they were worried about disrespect or mistreatment; and 67% saying they had experienced discrimination at some point.
“Being counted means there is no longer any excuse to make us invisible or leave us behind,” associate investigator Phylesha Brown-Acton said.
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The survey was used to advocate for better healthcare and inform other laws, policies and practices to improve the lives of transgender and non-binary people, Veale said.
“Completing this 2022 survey will tell us what has changed since then, including the improvements and ongoing challenges.”
Co-principal investigator and senior researcher Jack Byrne said the data affirmed what individuals in the community already knew but framed it as a collective experience.
“We were counting ourselves, because no one else was counting us,” Byrne said.
“People that get counted, their issues end up being counted as a result of that.”
Since the first survey, Byrne heard MPs and ministers cite statistics in the survey, including 83% of transgender and non-binary people stating they did not have their correct gender marker on their birth certificate.
“The data is there to be used to make change,” he said, and longitudinal data would allow to see where improvements were made and where gaps still existed that needed addressing.
Green Party Rainbow spokesperson and associate investigator of the project, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, said it was a unique opportunity for the Māori transgender and non-binary community to be heard.
“I hope many Māori who are trans or non-binary will bring your voice to this updated survey to help rebuild the Whare Takatāpui – the place of health and well-being for our people.”
The survey has new sections such the impacts of Covid-19 on the community and will also look at the impacts of conversion practices, as well as the support needed to stop the harm it is causing.
Associate investigator Ahi Wi-Hongi, of Gender Minorities Aotearoa, encouraged people to take part in the survey and said data from the first report had been instrumental in progressing advocacy.
“Your experiences matter. Counting Ourselves is one the best tools we have for change.”
The survey would be launched by Kerekere at Parliament at 1pm on Thursday and would be open until the end of November.
“The more people that fill it out, the more data we have, and the more detailed analysis we can do,” Byrne said.