On December 10th, 2015 the experts from TGEU – Transgender Europe conducted a capacity building training for the representatives of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL and other interested civil society organizations with the view of increasing their capacities in advocating for quick, accessible and transparent TRANS* specific health care.

During the training TGEU’s Health Officer Adam Smiley and Capacity Building Officer Noah Keuzenkamp stressed the need of provision of trans* specific health care. In case legal gender recognition is not possible without compulsory medical requirements, there is a high chance that human rights standards for transgender individuals are being violated. This unfortunate situation might be complicated even further, if the public authorities impose impossible to fulfill requirements upon transgender individuals, i.e. there is no possibility of obtaining trans* specific health care within the framework of the national health care system.

At the moment Lithuania is the only member state within the framework of the Council of Europe, which does not provide for either de facto or de jure procedure of gender reassignment. In order to change one’s identity documents, transgender people are forced to undergo the full gender reassignment procedure, including, inter alia, the ultimate gender reassignment surgery. The fact that not all transgender people want to change their gender surgically is being ignored. However, the corresponding identity documents are necessary for all transgender individuals with the view of leading social life free of discrimination, harassment and violence.