Barriers to Gender-Affirming Health Care in Children and Adolescents in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa has lagged behind other countries in offering gender-affirming health care (GAHC) until recently. The Southern African HIV Clinicians Society (SAHCS) published the guidelines for the management of GAHC in October 2021. As a result, GAHC is a fairly new and unique element in South Africa’s health-system response. It is, therefore, still difficult for the South African transgender population to access adequate and sensitised GAHC. This is particularly due to the continued marginalisation, prejudice and barriers this population faces in health-care facilities, especially in the public-health sector. This article aims to explore the challenges experienced by the transgender community in accessing GAHC in South Africa. Challenges include a lack of sufficiently trained health-care personnel and inadequate facilities, including systems in place to support them and their families. This article delineates the challenges of accessing GAHC in South Africa and provides some practical recommendations to improve it.