They have long been considered to suffer from a “psychosexual disorder” and even up to 2010 in France it was estimated that they had mental health issues. Today we talk about transgender or trans people, individuals who identify as a gender different from the one corresponding to their biological sex at birth. There are between 20,000 and 60,000 of them in our country. Among them, some are engaged in lengthy and difficult care pathways, pathways that have long been discriminatory. A double penalty for these often suffering individuals, with 40% more suicides among young trans people than in the rest of the population.
Even if the situation is evolving, if the stigma is gradually lifting, if specialized surgeons are increasing in number, the question remains the subject of controversies, with some people denouncing an “epidemic of transgenderism” among young people, or a “social contagion”, or even many regretted transitions. What is the reality?
In France, the framework for the care of trans individuals is strict. What is it and does it protect young people who are questioning? What does this care consist of? What is the role of hormones? Puberty blockers? Surgery, still recent in France where the first “official” gender reassignment surgery took place in 1979. Is psychological support systematic? What does the law say? Will it evolve?
