Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Everyone worldwide is being affected by COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. While there is no demographic left unaffected in some way, I’d like to focus on how it’s impacting the transgender community.

Delays and Cancelations

It goes without saying that non-emergency medical procedures are being delayed or canceled in order for the medical community to be able to respond to this crisis. That is both expected and completely understandable. I firmly believe that the majority of the transgender community is taking this in stride as best they can.

Yet, for those of us with more fragile mental health, especially if we’ve waited for years in order to begin treatments for our gender dysphoria, these delays could potentially be life-threatening as well. While I’m not suggesting that our treatments shouldn’t be postponed, what I am saying is that many transgender people need your kindness and understanding right now.

The stress alone from this pandemic could drive anyone with poor mental health to the brink of suicide, but transgender people are especially vulnerable. Especially those that were finally seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel in order to get the treatments they need to alleviate their dysphoria.

Bottom line, while we’re all having to make sacrifices during this crisis, please try to refrain from being unkind, especially to those of us in marginalized groups.

Sheltering-in-Place

Social distancing and quarantines are now becoming the norm as the world tries it’s best to ride out this crisis. Yet, there are some of us who are forced to shelter-in-place in abusive situations. Transgender people suffer from higher rates of domestic abuse than the general population. One study showed that as high as 80% of transgender people have experienced some form of domestic abuse.

Living with an abuser is already dangerous, but in times of crisis can be even more so. The abuser will be stressed due to the situation and may themselves feel trapped if ordered to shelter-in-place. That could cause the abuser to lash out, and often their partner is the only person around. This could cause the victim to suffer potentially more abuse.

If you know anyone that you may suspect is in an abusive relationship, try to reach out to them if you can, and make sure they are okay. If you can help them get out of the situation, that would be ideal, but even letting them know that someone is out there and cares about them can give them a critical lifeline.

Medical Treatment

If a transgender person contracts COVID-19 and requires medical attention to get through it, they may not receive the same level of medical care as cisgender people would. This isn’t true everywhere, and while medical professionals are sworn to do no harm, many transgender patients still suffer from bigotry, discrimination, and general lack of knowledge.

I’ve been lucky in my own dealings with hospital staff, with the fact I was still treated with dignity, even when it was revealed that I was transgender. However, the lack of knowledge surprised me. I had to explain a lot of things to the staff who cared for me. There seems to be different protocols when it comes to tending to either male or female patients and they weren’t quite sure what to do with me. In fact, they even put me into a private room because they weren’t sure if they should put me in with either a male or female patient.

Many other transgender people aren’t as lucky as I was, and many are afraid to speak up in order to get the level of care they require. Many have had horrible experiences in their local hospitals or healthcare facilities and may delay seeking treatment when becoming ill. Instead, they may choose to self-quarantine in their homes and ride out the illness as best as they can on their own. That could lead to some transgender people dying needlessly.

If you know a transgender person, check up on them. Make sure they’re staying healthy. If they need medical care, especially if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, see what you can do to try to help. Even an encouraging word from a friend can be very helpful. We all need to stick together if we’re going to survive this pandemic and now is not the time to turn our backs on any part of the population.

I am hoping that all of you are staying healthy and safe. Heed the CDC warnings and practice social distancing and hand washing. Help keep yourself and those around you safe. Here are some resources for transgender people during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://transequality.org/covid19