Christina Del Vecchio
Clinical Programs Coordinator

On Thursday, April 4^th CHCACT held the “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Workshop” to help increase health center staff knowledge on how to serve the transgender population. Thirty- five staff from ten health centers attended the workshop. Rosa Lee Klaneski was the speaker at the event. Identifying as a transgender woman, Rosa is an advocate for individual rights for the queer community. She has a B.A. in Women, Gender, and Sexuality and has an M.A. in Public Policy. She is also the author of Why Feminists Are Wrong: How Transsexuals Prove that Gender is not a Social Construction. Rosa has spoken to many groups on this topic and offers very personal experiences to help in understanding the population and how we can all be allies.

During the presentation, Rosa addressed the many terms that people use to identify themselves in this population and the differences between them. These included "transsexuals," "cross-dressers," "drag queens and kings," and "genderqueer." Rosa also discussed what intersex individuals are and how they differ from the rest of this population. Also, during the presentation, participants learned the different problems the transgender population faces, including being at an elevated risk for HIV and AIDS due to risky sexual behaviors and survival sex work. Transgender individuals are also at an increased risk for violence as a result of the stigma, phobia, and misunderstanding of this population.  Rosa offered specific ways we can all be allies and disseminated a list of organizations that can help support and advocate for transgender individuals.

Participants also learned about the needs of these individuals when they are transitioning to a different sex. People who are transitioning have medical, social, and legal needs. When transsexuals transition, it is imperative they have a therapist, doctors, and support groups. They also need new identity documents like state IDs, passports, and birth certificates that can now all be changed in Connecticut without gender-affirming surgeries. Rosa also spoke about the different types of ways to transition from one sex to another, including surgery or just taking hormones. Rosa also shared that there is not one single surgery for changing sex, and some individuals do not have any surgery.

Feedback from the training so far has been positive! If you have any questions, please reach out!

Have a great week!