- January 31, 2025
- Posted by: humanitarianweb
- Category: Humanitarian News
Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has conducted a vicious and calculated assault on trans and nonbinary people.
Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has conducted a vicious and calculated assault on trans and nonbinary people. Whilst not yet concluded, his attacks include a suite of executive actions designed to humiliate, demonise and erase trans and non-binary people from public life, and include the targeting of children and young people.
Some of the actions include the denial of gender-affirming care for minors and the denial of comprehensive sex and relationships education for students. This will increase the rate of violence against, and suicide in young people, and is nothing short of an act of state violence.
“Trans children and young people deserve safety, access to the same standard of care afforded to their peers, and adults around them who have their best interest at heart listening to their needs,” said Micah Grzywnowicz, Regional Director, IPPF European Network. “No young person, regardless of who they are, should be used as a pawn in a political game. The consequences of this Executive Order will be devastating and long-lasting. For many, access to gender affirming care is a lifeline – we will soon see increasing risks of mental health struggles, including anxiety, depression, and in the worst-case scenario, suicidal tendencies. This must be taken off the books – immediately,”
The attacks against children and young people are linked to a full-scale ideological war against all LGBTQI people denying them access to health care and meaningful employment. The anti-gender executive action positions women as needing protection – not from the Trump Administration – but from trans people; and the dog whistling against sexually and gender diverse military personnel is not only bizarre, but signals a new era of toxic masculinity in an increasingly militarised world.
Shifting the narrative from marginalization to outright criminalization is dangerous. It is extremist. It is inhumane. The Trump administration’s rollback of HIV/AIDS funding and potential cuts to PEPFAR will have devastating consequences — especially for transgender people, some of whom are engaged in sex work due to systemic discrimination. These cuts will directly impact access to life-saving medication, prevention programs, and healthcare. LGBTQI+ people rely on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, the reinstatement of the global gag rule and the new foreign aid executive action further denies health care to LGBTQI+ people. By stripping away these vital services, Trump is jeopardising years of global health progress.
And it is not just happening in the United States. Across the world, IPPF and its Member Associations are mobilized to expose these strategies used by political parties and governments spreading trans and homophobic ideologies. Many far-right governments use the same playbook—using transphobia as a political weapon to divide the women’s movement, and putting at risk years of child protection efforts designed to safeguard children from harm: in the house, by the church and from the state.
As part of the women’s movement we resist the patriarchy, we stand with lesbian, gay, queer, trans and non-binary people who are part of our movement. We are family. We will fight for the rights of our children and young people in all their beautiful diversity. We stand with trans and non-binary people everywhere.
For more information on gender-affirming care, read our IMAP Statement here: IMAP Statement on Hormone Therapy for Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons | IPPF
You can also read our blog on Self-care tips for when you are receiving gender-affirming healthcare here: Self-care tips for when you are receiving gender-affirming healthcare | IPPF