“Long Waiting Lists for Transgender Care in Netherlands: Study Reveals Increasing Demand”

The demand for transgender care is increasing, but it is unclear why this is. This is according to a long-awaited study published today.

Between October 2019 and July 2022, the number of registrations for transgender care rose from 2820 to 8630. At the same time, the number of treatment places doubled over the past three years. Although there are also duplications in the figures, approximately 6900 people are currently waiting for an intake. The average waiting time has risen to almost two years.

It is estimated that one third of the group waiting is under 18 years old. Among them, people who were mistaken for a girl at birth are overrepresented (more than half).

At the beginning of this year there was a demonstration in Amsterdam against the long waiting lists in transgender care:

The research was carried out by Radboud university medical center on behalf of the Ministry of Health. The researchers state that the waiting lists at specialist clinics are long, because transgender people have nowhere else to go with their problems. There is generally too little knowledge among general practitioners and in regular mental health care.

Only a small proportion of all trans people go to health care, because it is estimated that there are about 180,000 people in the Netherlands who identify as trans. Whether that number has increased in recent years, the researchers cannot say.

It is clear that trans people have become more visible in films and series, for example. That visibility may have made it easier for other trans people to express their identity.

Nevertheless, the study states that trans people do not yet have a full place in society. Specialist care is currently the only place where “knowledge, attention and care are structurally present”. Transgender people knock on this door, because they cannot turn to the rest of society. Yet specialist care is not always what they need.

The tone of the debate about trans people has also hardened, the researchers write. In recent years, for example, some conservative movements have criticized the increased acceptance of trans people.

The focus is then mainly on trans children. They would be in danger because they would be influenced by the visibility of trans people on social media. But there is no evidence for this so-called ‘social contagion’. According to researchers, this is ‘moral panic’ and creates polarization. The research warns that this could even lead to violence against trans people.

To improve the acceptance of trans people, more attention to gender diversity could be a solution. Not only in healthcare, but also, for example, at schools or at work.

It is uncertain how demand will develop in the coming years. If there is greater social acceptance, the demand for care will grow. But if there is greater restraint in society and in transgender care, the demand will decrease.