Gender-Affirming Policies
A summary of the scientific literature on policies affecting transgender and gender-diverse youth, including healthcare, school-based policies, and research needs.
How This Impacts Children's Development
Gender affirming social environment and medical care are crucial for the positive development and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse youth (TGD) and their families. When TGD youth can access developmentally appropriate gender-affirming support services, they are less likely to experience depressive symptoms and suicidal ideations.
Read the Brief: Anti-transgender legislation poses mental health and safety risks for transgender and gender diverse youth and their families, 2026Read the brief: Gender-Affirming Policies Support Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth's Health, 2022
Talking Points from the SRCD Briefs:
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Policy Considerations in the Brief
- The use of developmentally appropriate, gender-affirming health care, including puberty suppression, gender-affirming hormones, surgical interventions, and mental health care for TGD youth should not be subject to political scrutiny.
- Healthcare companies could provide insurance coverage of developmentally appropriate, gender-affirming health care, including puberty suppression, gender-affirming hormones, surgical interventions, and mental health care for TGD youth.
- Medical records could standardize the collection and privacy of gender identity and expression data in medical records, while also allowing greater research on health disparities.
- School-based policies that promote inclusion and acceptance have been linked to positive outcomes for TGD youth, such as addressing bullying, allowing students to change their names in school files, engaging in sports and activities that align with their affirmed gender, allowing the use of bathrooms and locker rooms that align with the student’s affirmed gender, using the student’s preferred name and pronouns, and training school personnel on inclusion for TGD youth.