#SpeakUp: SAYiT

Healthwatch Sheffield’s #SpeakUp-funded project with SAYiT explored trans young people’s experiences of advice and education relating to health, puberty, sex and relationships. The project involved 11 trans young people aged 13 to 20 who took part in focus groups and anonymous consultations. The work aimed to understand their experiences of health services and education, identify gaps in support and information, and explore how health and care providers could become more inclusive. 

Participants reported overwhelmingly negative experiences relating to sex, relationships, health and puberty education. Young people described a lack of inclusive information in schools, GP practices and healthcare settings, with many saying that relationship and sex education focused exclusively on heterosexual and cisgender experiences. Participants felt there was very little information available about trans-specific issues, including puberty, gender dysphoria, sexual health, relationships and life after gender-affirming treatment. Many young people said they struggled to find reliable information and often had nowhere appropriate to seek advice. Consent, healthy relationships and inclusive sexual health education were identified as significant gaps within existing education provision. 

Experiences of healthcare services were mixed but often depended on individual staff members rather than organisational policies. Participants described GPs and other professionals frequently using binary language, making assumptions about gender and lacking knowledge of trans identities and terminology. Some young people reported positive experiences when professionals asked for and used their preferred names, while others described feeling uncomfortable, misunderstood or responsible for educating healthcare staff themselves. Schools were particularly criticised for failing to provide inclusive education, while colleges and universities were generally viewed more positively because discussions around relationships, sexuality and gender were more open and inclusive.

The report recommended making healthcare forms more inclusive, routinely recording and using preferred names and pronouns, providing visible and inclusive information in GP surgeries, schools and hospitals, and improving training for healthcare professionals on LGBT+ issues. Participants also called for more resources for parents of trans children and the development of non-binary and trans-inclusive health, puberty and relationship education materials. The overall message was that health and education services should be more inclusive, better informed and more responsive to the needs and experiences of trans young people.