About PATHA

Our Vision

Our vision is that 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.

Transgender people include all those whose whose current sex or gender does not align with their sex assigned at birth. This includes people who are intersex and also identify as transgender. Appropriate healthcare includes being accessible, culturally appropriate, professionally delivered, and a high degree of competency in all matters relating to transgender healthcare, which includes gender-affirming and general healthcare.

Our Purposes

PATHA is an interdisciplinary professional organisation, which 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. Our purposes are to:

• Educate professionals and to develop and promote research, knowledge exchange and high-quality evidence-based healthcare for transgender people;
• Promote networking, communication and collaboration, and create supportive environments for professionals working with and for transgender people;
• Promote healthcare based on transgender community partnerships and leadership, Māori and Pasifika models, and human rights perspectives which emphasise informed consent and depathologisation of transgender people;
• Advocate for institutional, policy, and legislative reform to advance transgender people’s health using our collective knowledge and expertise.

To work towards these purposes, we recognise the need to be both connected with and responsive to the needs emerging from transgender people and communities. We strive to model a unity approach among transgender and cisgender people working professionally on transgender health, whether in clinical, academic, community, legal or other settings. This includes ensuring visible representation of transgender people on the Executive Committee and as Members.

This summary is an adaptation of the rules of the society. A full version of the rules can be downloaded here.