VA issues directive on care for transgender veterans

This is good news. The Veterans Administration has issued a new directive on providing care for transgender veterans. From On the Issues Magazine:

The Veterans Administration released a new directive on transgender veterans in June 2011, “Providing Health Care For Transgender And Intersex Veterans.” This directive recognizes the reality of many service members’ lives: the intersection of trans women’s and women veterans’ experience, and the specific needs that they encounter. It’s no surprise that women’s experiences intersect with multiple personal identities and that they are not confined to the traditional sex and gender binary of western society. Earlier in 2011, the National Center for Transgender Equality, a national social justice organization in Washington, D.C., released a 221-page report that created a demographic portrait of transgender people in the U.S., based on an extensive study sample of 7,000 and a rigorous survey review. Released in conjunction with the D.C.-based National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, one of the findings of the report, Injustice At Every Turn was that 20 percent of the adult, transgender people in the United States are military veterans, as compared to 10 percent of the adult population of the United States who are military veterans. The “Injustice” report had other significant findings, as well. For example, 30 percent of the transgender adult respondents reported having a physical disability or mental health condition that substantially affected a major life activity. By contrast, the overall U.S. population reports a disability at a rate of 20 percent.]]>