The Equal Opportunities Team, within the Agency for Domestic Governance of the Flemish Government, ordered in 2017 the Transgender Infopunt - UZ Gent to carry out a qualitative and quantitative needs assessment nature, that the obstacles and levers in living conditions, and the social and mental well-being of young mapping transgender people, with a focus on the extent to which these living conditions raise obstacles to full participation and the realization of rights.
The Transgender Infopunt conducted this policy-preparing study in 2017-2018, in collaboration with the child and youth gender team at UZ Gent, and with the Citizenship, Equality & Research Center Diversity. The steering group consisted of various civil society organizations (çavaria, Berdache Belgium and T-jong) and the representative(s) of the Equal Opportunities service.
The research focused on young people between 12 - 24 years old and included the following research questions:
1) What about the quality of life of transgender young people?
2) What about the social and mental well-being of transgender young people?
a. What is the influence of the home situation, school, broader social context and care ?
b. What are protective factors for mental health problems? What are the risk factors?
3) To what extent do transgender young people experience problems and / or discrimination in school, in their leisure time, in their family, in healthcare?
4) What obstacles do transgender young people experience in their social context, at school, in healthcare, which limit positive identity development?
5) What obstacles do the family / environment of transgender young people experience?
6) What levers do transgender young people experience as positive in their self-realization and identity development?