Berghouwer experienced the treatment as discriminatory. According to him, his complaint is not an isolated one. The interest group Transgender Netwerk Nederland asked trans people about their experiences with care. Dozens indicated that they had experienced discrimination in healthcare. Berghouwer: “A GP who says he can’t draw blood because he doesn’t ‘understand’ transbodies. That makes my stomach turn.”
Berghouwer continues: “We also often heard that people were put away with complaints that are supposedly psychological, but that must be treated urgently medically afterwards”.
Figures from the European Agency for Fundamental Rights show a similar trend. About 30 percent of trans people in 2019 indicated to that EU agency that they had felt discriminated against in healthcare in the past year.
‘treated unequally’
Berghouwer first submitted a complaint to the hospital, but according to him it was not handled properly. He then started the procedure at the Institute for Human Rights. Lawyer Marik Pannekoek represents him pro bono and estimates the case to be promising.
It is established for Pannekoek that there was unequal treatment. “As far as we are concerned, he has treated Berghouwer unequally as a trans man compared to a cisgender woman (not transgender, ed.). A transgender man, just like a cisgender woman, can suffer from his ovaries and uterus. If he lodges a pain complaint with treating physician, this physician should not refer him to a psychologist without a physical examination.”
The Human Rights Board does not decide on compensation. But that is not what Berghouwer hopes for. He wants more awareness among medical specialists. He expects the verdict at the end of April.
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