5 ways to make Veterans Affairs more friendly to trans veterans

Shameful that this is a topic that still requires discussion. They're vets who did the job, period!

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
..."VA facilities must ensure that all patients and visitors can move freely without the harassment or harm that has been endemic for women and LGBTQ+ people. If VA is safe for transgender veterans, staff, and visitors, then VA will be safe for the broadly diverse population of veterans it’s charged with serving.

VA needs to ensure all facilities have more safe restrooms where no veteran needs to dread someone causing a scene or ousting them because they’re transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming.

VA must collect comprehensive demographic data, including on gender identity and sexual orientation. This currently isn’t even tracked and is a glaring gap in VA’s health equity efforts.

VA must allow veterans the option to designate “X” as their gender marker in VA records; denying this option places an undue burden on nonbinary veterans to explain their identity over and over again to every provider they see.

VA must acknowledge that transgender healthcare is healthcare. VA must include gender affirming surgeries in the medical benefits package.

VA can’t change if veterans service organizations and our communities across the country don’t also change. It’s time for our community to have some tough conversations about the toxic culture that exists for transgender veterans. The culture we’ve created to survive literal wars must evolve to reflect the camaraderie that we all consider the best part of who we are. As a veteran community, we say often that we leave no one behind. We must live this value and fight to ensure that our transgender siblings-in-arms and veterans receive the care and community they earned."...

Thanks for the share. Someday, hopefully, everyone will be "safe" regardless of their gender...