This profile series offers perspectives from the PHSA community about their efforts to address past struggles and ongoing challenges faced by the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The second profile features Clara Langlois, part of Trans Care BC's extended network. Read part 1 of the series to learn about Vancouver Pride and to hear from Dr. Daniel Metzger, an endocrinologist at BC Children’s Hospital.
Having moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2018 from B.C., Clara Langlois was familiar with experiencing difficulty in trying to access health care across the board — there has been a shortage of doctors operating all across New Brunswick for some time, so the chances of finding a care provider with the specific training and knowledge she was looking for were slim. In addition, most of the clinics that provided gender-affirming care were clinics which were focused on sexual health and pregnancy; when the provincial government restricted access to abortions, those clinics were closed.
Though Langlois began seeking transition care in Fredericton, they eventually moved to Kelowna, where they were able to start hormone replacement therapy in earnest.
Though not experiencing discrimination in health care, Clara has felt frustration due to health-care providers not being familiar with transition care.
"[Many] of these doctors don't really know what they're talking about, [and] you have to come in with the facts yourself," Clara says. "I always have to have all the facts, I always have to be willing to defend what I want."
"For a while, I thought that the solution was to have more trans people be doctors, but I've actually heard from a lot of trans people who are medical professionals who didn't go on to specialize in trans care," Clara continues. "I don't necessarily think that is the only fix."
Although challenges related to accessing trans health care continue to exist, we can do our part to create a welcoming and positive space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people at PHSA. If you have a few spare moments during Vancouver Pride weekend and the B.C. Day long weekend, please take some time to reflect on what you can do to learn more about and better support 2SLGBTQIA+ colleagues, patients, community and family members.
To begin, you can check out the following PHSA resources:
Always feel free to reach out to the Trans Care BC team at transcareteam@phsa.ca with your questions, and for more information.
