Dr Jeannie Oliphant followed-up the 2019 survey of District Health Board (DHB) clinicians, with a 2021 update at the PATHA Symposium this year. She obtained information from clinicians providing gender affirming healthcare in 20 DHBs in New Zealand.

In summary, while there has been an improvement in the availability of gender affirming healthcare services provided by DHBs around Aotearoa, this has mostly been due to efforts to improve access to clinical services. It should be acknowledged that provision of clinical services is often championed by individual clinicians in contrast to other aspects of care such as providing clear pathways or advisory groups, which require resourcing by DHB management.

You can read the full findings here: https://patha.nz/gender-affirming-care-2021

On 5 November 2021, AusPATH, PATHA and ACON submitted a joint letter to the President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), calling for a review of the Position Statement “Recognising and addressing the mental health needs of people experiencing Gender Dysphoria / Gender Incongruence”.

This letter (attached below) was co-signed by 20 national and state-based community-controlled organisations, representing every state and territory across Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand.

AusPATH, PATHA and ACON decided that this letter be published in order to support broader advocacy efforts.

You can download the letter here.

PATHA recently made submissions to two of Parliament's Select Committees on proposed laws that will impact on trans people's wellbeing.

On the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, PATHA made a submission in support of banning conversion practices, and made recommendations to strengthen the definitions used in the Bill, include protections for intersex people, introduce broader penalties, resource education for communities and support for survivors, and require a review of the law's implementation.  

• Submission on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill
• Oral submission to the Justice Committee (starts at about 14:10)

On the Inquiry into Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 59 on the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill, PATHA made a joint submission with the Counting Ourselves research team at the Transgender Health Research Lab, at the University of Waikato. The submission supported the proposed law change, and recommended improvements to address gaps in access to legal gender recognition for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants; improve access for children and young people; affirm the existing rights of trans, non-binary and intersex people; and ensure their participation in the development of implementing regulations and the five-year review.

• Submission on the Inquiry into Supplementary Order Paper 59 on the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill from the Counting Ourselves research team at the University of Waikato Transgender Health Research Lab and PATHA.
• Oral submission to the Governance and Administration Committee (starts at about 34:00)

PATHA welcomes the news that the 'Bell vs Tavistock' case in England has been unanimously overturned on appeal. We are pleased by the ruling's judgment that the long-standing standard of Gillick competence for young people to consent to their medical care should apply the same to transgender youth as it does to any other youth. You can read the judgement here, or these summaries of its main points: quick read, longer read.

Last year, PATHA joined WPATH, EPATH, USPATH, AsiaPATH, CPATH, and AusPATH in a statement opposing the earlier judgement, noting that it would result in significant harm to affected transgender young people and their families, and urging that this earlier judgement be overturned.

The Annual General Meeting for the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) will be held via online video call from 1-3pm on Saturday the 19th of June, 2021.

Agenda

1. Welcome
2. Note any apologies and appoint minute taker
3. Receiving the minutes of the previous Society Meeting
   
4. President’s Report
   
5. Financial Report
6. Election of Executive Committee Members
   
7. Upcoming Symposium and Training Day
   
8. Close meeting
   

PATHA members can log in to find a registration link for the online AGM, copies of the reports, and information about nominees for the Executive Committee.

The 2021 PATHA Annual General Meeting will be held via online video call from 1-3pm on Saturday the 19th of June, 2021. At this meeting, we will be electing members to the positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary and up to four general Executive Committee members. We are seeking nominations for these positions. All of these positions are voluntary and unpaid.

Background

PATHA is an interdisciplinary professional organisation that works to promote the health, wellbeing, and rights of transgender people. We are a group of people working professionally on transgender health in clinical, academic, community, legal, and other settings. We envision an Aotearoa New Zealand where all transgender people have full access to appropriate healthcare, and that all healthcare providers have access to information and resources which enable them to provide appropriate healthcare. You can read PATHA’s full vision and purposes here.

At present, PATHA is run entirely by volunteers and governed by an Executive Committee. Some of PATHA’s work is undertaken by committees - the Policy and Advocacy Committee and Education Committee - that have active participation by non-Executive Committee members. 

The PATHA Executive Committee has a friendly and collaborative atmosphere and is made up of a diverse group of transgender and cisgender people with a shared passion for transgender health. We have a range of professional and volunteer affiliations and experience working in relevant fields. We aim to have an Executive Committee that is ethnically, geographically, and professionally diverse. PATHA strives to uphold the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. 

Responsibilities

PATHA Executive Committee members are expected to:

• participate in Executive Committee meetings;
• actively contribute to working towards of PATHA’s vision and purposes;
• complete action items between meetings; and
• be able to commit to an average of two to three hours of work per week.

During meetings, each Executive Committee member is expected to:

• be prepared and have read background information sent to Executive Committee members about the issues being discussed;
• actively participate in the meeting;
• interact with fellow Executive Committee members in a respectful and constructive manner; and
• take responsibility for completing specific action items.

In addition, the President, Vice-President and Secretary have the following responsibilities:

President
The President is responsible for: overseeing PATHA’s operation and ensuring its Rules are followed, convening and chairing meetings including the Annual General Meeting, and providing a report on PATHA’s operations at each Annual General Meeting.

Vice-President
The Vice-President is responsible for: assisting the President with their responsibilities, including stepping into the role of the President and chairing meetings in the event of the President being absent or unable to fulfil their duties.

Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for: recording the minutes of meetings; overseeing the register of members; maintaining PATHA’s records and documents; and receiving and replying to correspondence.

Commitment

The PATHA Executive Committee holds monthly meetings via videoconference. These meetings typically last 90 minutes and are held on weekday evenings. Executive Committee members are expected to attend meetings regularly. Executive Committee members are also expected to actively contribute to the achievement of PATHA’s vision and purposes by completing specific activities in their own time.

Eligibility

You must be a PATHA member to apply for these positions.

We encourage people with the following skills and experiences to stand for these positions:

• Have a demonstrated commitment to, and knowledge of, transgender health and healthcare
• Have knowledge of Māori and Pasifika models of transgender health
• Possess a collaborative, collegial working style
• Have strong communication skills
• Be well connected with with transgender communities and/or health providers working with transgender communities
• Have a strong understanding of the breadth of factors that influence transgender people’s health and well-being, and of diversity within transgender communities

A range of skills are necessary to ensure a smoothly functioning Executive Committee. These include: legal skills, accounting / finance skills, fundraising, media relations and communications strategy, and knowledge of regulations governing incorporated societies.

PATHA’s rules require that the mix of Officers and Executive Committee members should demonstrate a partnership between cisgender and transgender people, and between Māori and non-Māori, working professionally on transgender health, whether in clinical, academic, community, legal or other settings. We aim to have an Executive Committee that is ethnically, geographically, and professionally diverse. As part of our desire for geographical diversity, we are particularly interested in nominations from people living in the South Island, and as part of our desire for professional diversity, we are particularly interested in nominations from people with primary care experience.

Term

Executive Committee term lengths are two years. 

How to Apply

To nominate yourself for one or more of these positions, please fill out the online form here by 5pm, Monday June 14th.

Below is the briefing that PATHA sent to the incoming (2020) Minister of Health on the topic of transgender health. We have made this public as they might be useful for anybody advocating to advance transgender people's health.

We thank the PATHA Policy and Advocacy Committee their expertise and work that they did to create these.

You can also use these links to download the cover letter and briefing document.

We are pleased to announce that this symposium will be held at Tautoru TSB Space, Tūranga Central Library, Ōtautahi Christchurch on 25-26 September 2021. Click here for more information about this symposium.

A new article about providing gender affirming healthcare was published in Rata Aotearoa / New Zealand Doctor in August 2020. It has an accompanying elearning activity with CME credits.

We would like to thank Dr Cathy Stephenson, Alex Ker, and Dr Rachel Johnson for this work.

You can read the article and find out more about the elearning activity here.

WPATH, EPATH, USPATH, AsiaPATH, CPATH, AusPATH, and PATHA Response to Bell v. Tavistock Judgment

[Update 5/4/2021: This statement has been developed into a paper that was published in the International Journal of Transgender Health. It is available on the WPATH website here. The authors note “the current paper is an extended version of that statement including the scientific evidence and references which the necessary brevity of such policy statements precludes”.]

[Update 1/1/2021: AusPATH have also released their own statement about this ruling which is available here.]

Statement Regarding Medical Affirming Treatment, Including Puberty Blockers for Transgender Adolescents

The Boards of Directors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the European Association for Transgender Health (EPATH), the United States Professional Association for Transgender health (USPATH), the Asia Professional Association for Transgender Health (AsiaPATH), the Canadian Association for Transgender Health (CPATH), the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH), and the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) all strongly disagree with the recent judgement of the London High Court in Bell v. Tavistock. We believe this decision will result in significant harm to the affected children and their families. We oppose this ruling and urge that this ruling be appealed and overturned.

Click here for the full statement.