What does it mean to provide affirming care?
Many 2S/LGBTQIA+ people don’t have health and social care providers that respect and affirm who they are. Offering affirming care can enhance your practice, increase accessibility and improve the experience of people you support. In practice, offering affirming care requires the unlearning of prejudice, educating yourself about 2S/LGBTQIA+ health and applying your learning to offer high quality, person-centred care.
Affirming care through an intersectional lens
While people often refer to the “2S/LGBTQIA+ community” as a whole, 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities are not monolithic. Instead, they are diverse, with each individual’s experience shaped by factors beyond their sexual orientation and gender identity, like age or race. For example, the health of a disabled trans person of colour can be influenced not only by transphobia but also racism and ableism in an intersecting way. So, while learning to offer gender-affirming care is one way to improve their care experience, your practice would be more effective in addressing their needs if also informed by anti-racism, disability justice, and other anti-oppressive practices. True affirming care acknowledges individuals as whole people and affirms the diverse facets of their identities. Applying an intersectional lens to your affirming care will enhance your practice and the experiences of your patients and clients.
Learn more by completing CBRC’s online learning module, Intersectional Affirming Care!
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