Reproductive and Sexual Health Handbook

In Australia, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex (LGBTI) people are estimated to make up 11 per cent of the population, although accurate population data is limited.⁽¹⁾ We do know that trans and gender diverse (TGD) people are at higher risk of verbal and physical abuse,⁽²⁾ and experience substantially poorer mental health outcomes, compared with the general population.⁽³⁾ Accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare can be especially challenging for TGD people, due to a lack of dedicated services and education for clinicians.

At birth, most people are assigned the female or male sex based on their genital anatomy. Transgender, trans and gender diverse are umbrella terms that describe people whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth.⁽⁴⁾ It is helpful to note that in gender discussions, the term cisgender is used to denote people whose gender identity matches their assigned sex at birth.

TGD people may have a binary gender (i.e. male or female) or may describe their gender as non-binary, genderqueer, or agender, to name a few. They may also use a range of pronouns such as he/him, she/her, they/them, ze/hir. It is good practice to

Hembree WC C-KP, Gooren L, Hannema SE, Meyer WJ, Murad W, et al. Endocrine Treatment of Gender-Dysphoric/Gender-Incongruent Persons: An Endocrine Society* Clinical Practice Guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2017;102(11):3869-903. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/102/11/3869/4157558

Cheung AS, Wynne K, Erasmus J, Murray S, Zajac JD. Position statement on the hormonal management of adult transgender and gender diverse individuals. MJA 2019; 211(3). https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/211_03/mja250259.pdf

ACON

The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) – Standards of Care

BreastScreen 

New South Wales Information for trans and gender diverse people Victoria Resources and fact sheets for Trans and gender diverse people

The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne

Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines For trans and gender diverse children and adolescents. Version 1.1. Melbourne; 2018. Available at: https://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/adolescent-medicine/australian-standards-of-care-and-treatment-guidelines-for-trans-and-gender-diverse-children-and-adolescents.pdf Department of Health and Ageing. National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Ageing and Aged Care Strategy [internet]. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government; 2012. Leonard W, Pitts M, Mitchell A, Lyons A, Smith A, Patel S, et al. Private Lives 2: The second national survey of the health and wellbeing of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Australians. Melbourne, VIC: The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University; 2012. National LGBTI Health Alliance. The statistics at a glance: the mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Australia [Internet]. Newtown, NSW: National LGBTI Health Alliance; 2016. Available from: https://lgbtihealth.org.au/statistics/. A language guide: Trans and gender diverse inclusion [internet]. ACON: 2017. Available from: https://www.acon.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/External_Language-Guide-17396_print_V12A.pdf. Cheung A, Wynne K, Erasmus J, Murray S, Zajac JD. Position statement on the hormonal management of adult transgender and gender diverse individuals. MJA. 2019;211(3). Telfer M, Pace MA, Pang KC. Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents. Version 1.1. Melbourne; 2018. Vincent B, Lorimer V. Transgender health: A practitioner’s guide to binary and non-binary trans patient care. Jessica Kingsley Publishing; 2018. Cornelisse V, Jones RA, Fairley CK, Grover SR. The medical care of the neovaginal of transgender