This week marks Trans+ History Week. As part of our Who Is Welcome, Gender Queerness and Migration campaign, we have been continually reflecting on the intersections of border violence and transphobia, and how these histories of oppression continue to animate our present.
Trans and GNC migrants and radicalised people face the most acute end of this violence. Many trans and GNC migrants face additional barriers in accessing gender-affirming care, from healthcare costs and a long NHS waitlist to the withholding of HRT in immigration detention centres.
The medicalisation of transness, combined with the cruelty of the UK’s immigration systems, poses unique barriers for trans migrants, particularly people seeking asylum, and for their dignity and wellbeing. Both the medical industrial complex and border regimes (including immigration detention systems) exert surveillance, power and control over trans people seeking asylum by holding them to harmful burdens of proof, invasive administrative processes and disbelieving their truth.
It is imperative that we build solidarity amongst different struggles to better support all those affected by oppressive systems, especially trans people seeking asylum, who are situated at the sharp end of both pathologisation and bordering.
This week, we want to give our platform to amplify the voices and stories of trans+ migrants/migratised people. We invite you to talk about your experiences and struggles through creative mediums or blogs. If you would like to share your story, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Read more:
Stand With Trans
The Policing of Transness and Migration
Gender, Queerness and Migration