31 May 2014 — 2nd Trans Health, Research and Advocacy Conference, South Africa
Trans and Intersex Africa (TIA), Social, Health and Empowerment Feminist Collective of Transgender and Intersex Women of Africa (S.H.E), et Gender DynamiX (GDX) hosted the 2nd Trans Health, Research and Advocacy Conference in Cape Town, South Africa between 31 May and 2 June 2014.
This was the largest conference in the series to date and had a total of 198 participants, of which 25 were from the African region, which included Botswana, Egypt, Lesotho, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Other participating African countries included Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Madagascar, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya.
Dr Kevin Adams from the Groote Schuur Multidisciplinary Transgender Clinic in Cape Town, South Africa collaborated with Dr Kojovid from Serbia in an operating theatre in the Groote Schuur hospital to provide surgical training, which included filming to reach a wider training audience. Dr Asa Radix, Kristian Randjelovic, Mauro Cabral Grinspan, Arlene Lev, and Cecilia Chung made presentations on various topics and participated throughout the conference. Besides an overview of the complete programme and speakers, the conference report includes an audit that compares the 2011 conference recommendations to the progress made between the first and second conferences.
The conference had phenomenal and dynamic presentations, dialogues and interactions and one of the highlights, presented as a “satellite” session was two live surgery training sessions at the Grootte Schuur Hospital. Drs Kevin Adams (Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town) and Vladimir Kojovic (Belgrade Centre for Genital Reconstructive Surgery, Belgrade, Serbia) presented two surgery workshops accompanied by film screenings of surgical methods. The first was aimed at trans women and focused on vaginoplasty procedures. The second workshop was aimed at trans men and covered methods for metoidioplasty and phalloplasty; it included a short metoidioplasty film that had been made a few days earlier at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.
The conference report compared the 2011 Conference’s Recommendations tabulated to see action points completed by the time of the 2014 conference. This was a method to ensure accountability and that that GDX led by example that NGO conferences go beyond conferencing, and should have outputs implemented to the benefit of the community.
Read the Conference Report
Read about the 1st Trans Health, Research and Advocacy Conference in November 2010
