Transgender, human rights, and social work

Abstract

Transgender and non-binary (TNB) people are facing high levels of violence, harassment, discrimination, and family rejection. Because of the injustice, oppression, and inequalities, that TNB people are facing, social work needs to respond in order to provide help and support. Social workers may encounter TNB colleagues and clients within many areas of social work practice, such as family therapy, youth work, eldercare, and the homeless population. It is therefore essential that knowledge on this area as well as critical perspectives on gender, which go beyond cis-normativity, is developed. This chapter is guided by the following questions: What does the situation on TNB rights look like in a European context? What knowledge do we have on TNB experiences in relation to social work? What could we gain from letting critical transgender studies intersect with critical social work? How do we avoid cis-normative social work, and how can we work towards a TNB-affirmative social work practice?