Experiences of medical transition in transgender people in Serbia: From affirmation of identity to institutionalized violence

Abstract

Transgender people are one of the most stigmatized social groups. They are experiencing institutional stigma and stigma on individual psychological level through different medical and legal procedures specific to their group. Though gender confirmation surgeries have been performed in Serbia for more than three decades, research on experiences and ways in which transgender people give meaning to the process is lacking. This topic became even more prominent due to significant changes in the area of depychopathologization of gender diversity and individualization of the medical gender confirmation process. This paper presents the experiences of transgender people in Serbia throughout the medical gender confirmation process and analyses the ways in which transgender people experience the process and give meaning to it, aiming to draw attention to certain problematic practices still present in the local institutional context. We used semi-structured interviews to collect data. Our approach is qualitative, based on interpretative phenomenological analysis. The sample consists of 12 transgender people age 23 to 48 (8 trans men and 4 trans women). Results indicate the great psychological and practical significance of the medical transition, and diversity in their needs when it comes to surgical interventions, implicating the importance of the easier access to the treatment and the individualization of treatment.