Transgender and non-binary people are one of the most marginalized groups in the society, exposed... more Transgender and non-binary people are one of the most marginalized groups in the society, exposed to different forms of violence and discrimination, both on the structural and individual level. The aim of our research is to provide a better understanding of the position of transgender and non-binary people in Serbia. In addition to overall socio-demographic characteristics, we explore the experiences of violence and discrimination in public space, during education, at work, as well as the difficulties with legal gender recognition, experiences within the health care system and needs for different forms of support. In this explorative study we used an online questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended questions. The convenience sample comprised 71 respondents and included both transgender men and women and the non-binary people. Our results confirm that transgender people in Serbia are exposed to violence and discrimination in different life periods and different areas of life,...
Fenomen transrodnosti, određen kao različitost između pripisanog pola i rodnog identiteta osobe, ... more Fenomen transrodnosti, određen kao različitost između pripisanog pola i rodnog identiteta osobe, zadobija sve veću pažnju naučne i opšte javnosti. U prethodnoj deceniji dolazi do značajnog zaokreta u pristupu, gde tradicionalni psihopatologizujući medicinski pristup zamenjuje shvatanje rodne različitosti kao nepatološkog fenomena (ICD- 11), a kategorijalno shvatanje roda zamenjuje posmatranje roda kao spektra (APA, 2015). Uporedo s promenom pristupa raste i spremnost naučne zajednice da čuje iskustva samih transrodnih osoba, umesto da ih posmatra kao predmet istraživanja fokusiranih na medicinske intervencije i psihopatološke fenomene. Pored toga, podaci koji ukazuju na veću prevalencu različitih tegoba iz domena mentalnog zdravlja kod trasnrodnih osoba u poređenju sa cisrodnim osobama sve više se razumeju kao posledica različitih oblika stigmatizacije (Robles et al., 2016), dok se rodno afirmativno okruženje smatra protektivnim faktorom za mentalno zdravlje (Olson et al., 2016). U ...
All studies to date demonstrate a lack of access to care for transgender people. A few educationa... more All studies to date demonstrate a lack of access to care for transgender people. A few educational efforts in providing care to transgender people have been successful. However, one challenge in administering training is that there is almost no research on the need of healthcare providers (HCP) to acquire knowledge, as well as on the effect of training on their level of competence and confidence in working with transgender people. Results from an online survey of a convenience sample of HCP across four different European countries (N = 810) showed that 52.7% reported experiences with some form of training on transgender people. The mean confidence level for all HCP (with or without training) in working with transgender people was 2.63, with a significant effect of training on confidence. 92.4% of HCP believed that training would raise their competence, and this belief was significantly higher among HCP with training experience, HCP working in Serbia and Sweden and/or among those HCP...
Introduction. In the past ten years significant changes have happened in conceptualization and tr... more Introduction. In the past ten years significant changes have happened in conceptualization and treatment of transgender phenomenon. Treatment has been individualized and more grounded in the model of informed consent, more referrals to the gender clinics and gender teams has been recorded, and the ICD-11 finally removed gender dysphoria from the chapter on mental disorders to a separate chapter on sexual health. Objective. Having in mind these changes and the preparation for the upcoming implementation of ICD-11, we can expect more transgender patients in primary, secondary and tertiary health care. Therefore we conducted this research aiming to assess level of knowledge and experiences of health providers on working with transgender patients. Method of work. We used qualitative methodology and online survey created for this research. The sample is convenient. Results. Final sample consists of 65 health providers. Data indicates relatively low level of knowledge on different aspects...
Transgender people are one of the most stigmatized social groups. They are experiencing instituti... more Transgender people are one of the most stigmatized social groups. They are experiencing institutional stigma and stigma on individual psychological level through different medical and legal procedures specific to their group. Though gender confirmation surgeries have been performed in Serbia for more than three decades, research on experiences and ways in which transgender people give meaning to the process is lacking. This topic became even more prominent due to significant changes in the area of depychopathologization of gender diversity and individualization of the medical gender confirmation process. This paper presents the experiences of transgender people in Serbia throughout the medical gender confirmation process and analyses the ways in which transgender people experience the process and give meaning to it, aiming to draw attention to certain problematic practices still present in the local institutional context. We used semi-structured interviews to collect data. Our appro...
Background There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender and non-binar... more Background There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender and non-binary (TGNB) mental health in the Serbian context which, over the last three decades, has been characterized by profound social transformations. Method We draw upon 15 semi-structured interviews with members of a TGNB self-help group operating in Belgrade, Serbia. The material was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results We identified three elements of group operation: 1) information, support, and community, 2) navigating the medical/psychiatric system, and 3) dealing with gender binarism. While the group is important for helping its members navigate the medical system in terms of mental health professionals’ expectations regarding “proper” candidates for gender affirmation procedures, it has a hard time escaping a gender binarism that characterizes its social context. Conclusions Despite significant improvements in the situation of TGNB people concerning psychiatric gatekeeping a...
Transgender and non-binary people are one of the most marginalized groups in the society, exposed... more Transgender and non-binary people are one of the most marginalized groups in the society, exposed to different forms of violence and discrimination, both on the structural and individual level. The aim of our research is to provide a better understanding of the position of transgender and non-binary people in Serbia. In addition to overall socio-demographic characteristics, we explore the experiences of violence and discrimination in public space, during education, at work, as well as the difficulties with legal gender recognition, experiences within the health care system and needs for different forms of support. In this explorative study we used an online questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended questions. The convenience sample comprised 71 respondents and included both transgender men and women and the non-binary people. Our results confirm that transgender people in Serbia are exposed to violence and discrimination in different life periods and different areas of life,...
Fenomen transrodnosti, određen kao različitost između pripisanog pola i rodnog identiteta osobe, ... more Fenomen transrodnosti, određen kao različitost između pripisanog pola i rodnog identiteta osobe, zadobija sve veću pažnju naučne i opšte javnosti. U prethodnoj deceniji dolazi do značajnog zaokreta u pristupu, gde tradicionalni psihopatologizujući medicinski pristup zamenjuje shvatanje rodne različitosti kao nepatološkog fenomena (ICD- 11), a kategorijalno shvatanje roda zamenjuje posmatranje roda kao spektra (APA, 2015). Uporedo s promenom pristupa raste i spremnost naučne zajednice da čuje iskustva samih transrodnih osoba, umesto da ih posmatra kao predmet istraživanja fokusiranih na medicinske intervencije i psihopatološke fenomene. Pored toga, podaci koji ukazuju na veću prevalencu različitih tegoba iz domena mentalnog zdravlja kod trasnrodnih osoba u poređenju sa cisrodnim osobama sve više se razumeju kao posledica različitih oblika stigmatizacije (Robles et al., 2016), dok se rodno afirmativno okruženje smatra protektivnim faktorom za mentalno zdravlje (Olson et al., 2016). U ...
All studies to date demonstrate a lack of access to care for transgender people. A few educationa... more All studies to date demonstrate a lack of access to care for transgender people. A few educational efforts in providing care to transgender people have been successful. However, one challenge in administering training is that there is almost no research on the need of healthcare providers (HCP) to acquire knowledge, as well as on the effect of training on their level of competence and confidence in working with transgender people. Results from an online survey of a convenience sample of HCP across four different European countries (N = 810) showed that 52.7% reported experiences with some form of training on transgender people. The mean confidence level for all HCP (with or without training) in working with transgender people was 2.63, with a significant effect of training on confidence. 92.4% of HCP believed that training would raise their competence, and this belief was significantly higher among HCP with training experience, HCP working in Serbia and Sweden and/or among those HCP...
Introduction. In the past ten years significant changes have happened in conceptualization and tr... more Introduction. In the past ten years significant changes have happened in conceptualization and treatment of transgender phenomenon. Treatment has been individualized and more grounded in the model of informed consent, more referrals to the gender clinics and gender teams has been recorded, and the ICD-11 finally removed gender dysphoria from the chapter on mental disorders to a separate chapter on sexual health. Objective. Having in mind these changes and the preparation for the upcoming implementation of ICD-11, we can expect more transgender patients in primary, secondary and tertiary health care. Therefore we conducted this research aiming to assess level of knowledge and experiences of health providers on working with transgender patients. Method of work. We used qualitative methodology and online survey created for this research. The sample is convenient. Results. Final sample consists of 65 health providers. Data indicates relatively low level of knowledge on different aspects...
Transgender people are one of the most stigmatized social groups. They are experiencing instituti... more Transgender people are one of the most stigmatized social groups. They are experiencing institutional stigma and stigma on individual psychological level through different medical and legal procedures specific to their group. Though gender confirmation surgeries have been performed in Serbia for more than three decades, research on experiences and ways in which transgender people give meaning to the process is lacking. This topic became even more prominent due to significant changes in the area of depychopathologization of gender diversity and individualization of the medical gender confirmation process. This paper presents the experiences of transgender people in Serbia throughout the medical gender confirmation process and analyses the ways in which transgender people experience the process and give meaning to it, aiming to draw attention to certain problematic practices still present in the local institutional context. We used semi-structured interviews to collect data. Our appro...
Background There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender and non-binar... more Background There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender and non-binary (TGNB) mental health in the Serbian context which, over the last three decades, has been characterized by profound social transformations. Method We draw upon 15 semi-structured interviews with members of a TGNB self-help group operating in Belgrade, Serbia. The material was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results We identified three elements of group operation: 1) information, support, and community, 2) navigating the medical/psychiatric system, and 3) dealing with gender binarism. While the group is important for helping its members navigate the medical system in terms of mental health professionals’ expectations regarding “proper” candidates for gender affirmation procedures, it has a hard time escaping a gender binarism that characterizes its social context. Conclusions Despite significant improvements in the situation of TGNB people concerning psychiatric gatekeeping a...
Uploads
Papers by Jelena Vidic