Background
In Colombia, trans people face various forms of violence, discrimination and marginalisation. Access to medical care for trans people is hindered by stigma and a lack of understanding of their specific needs. These challenges become even more daunting within mental healthcare. Factors such as poverty, exclusion, and violence significantly impact the emotional health of trans individuals but are often overlooked by existing mental health care approaches.
In the absence of accessible and specialised services, trans individuals have created their own care strategies. Various organisations and collectives across the country support their peers while engaging in public advocacy to defend trans rights. However, this burden largely falls on the trans leaders of these groups. They not only have to deal with these issues personally but also bear the responsibility of listening to and supporting their peers. Therefore, this is an incredibly complex position, especially considering that Colombia is the deadliest country in the Americas for human rights defenders, and that the life expectancy of trans individuals in the country is only between 28 and 35 years.
These leaders often find themselves helping in isolation, prompting the question of who cares for the caregiver. Therefore, there is a need for care strategies that articulate individual, collective, and advocacy spheres to avoid the burnout of these leaders and enhance their own wellbeing as well as that of their peers.
Most Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) tools are standardised, and therefore do not effectively address the specific needs of diverse trans communities in Colombia or align with their social justice objectives. These strategies must be tailored to collective understandings of wellbeing and must recognise the structural issues that contribute to mental distress. That means, going beyond the conventional understandings of mental health in an intrinsic and depoliticised matter.
Objectives
In this context, the Liga de Salud Trans (LST) collective and the Athena Institute initiated this project to co-create a platform for exploring the mental health needs and existing support strategies among trans individuals in eight regions of Colombia. The focus lies on the insights of trans leaders/human rights defenders, who can draw upon their personal experiences within the distinctive contexts of their respective regions and subsequently share newfound knowledge with their peers through community-based organisations.
The project will strengthen community processes in mental health, foster support networks that promote the wellbeing of leaders and members of these organisations, and contribute to future policy changes and interventions by highlighting the needs, barriers, and possibilities in collective care for the mental health of trans individuals across the country. Furthermore, this initiative will offer an opportunity for these leaders to connect with one another and establish a support network, mitigating their isolation and fortifying their advocacy efforts at a national level.
Approach
We will collaboratively generate knowledge with trans leaders in a participatory manner, providing a space to exchange regional collective care strategies as well as analyse together various MHPSS approaches, all of which can be tailored to their specific contexts.
The project will unfold through a series of workshops: a primary workshop in Bogotá involving 23 leaders from all regions, followed by eight subsequent workshops; one in each region. In these follow-up workshops, each leader will conduct their own session utilising information from the primary workshop that they deem relevant to their specific context, with the assistance of facilitators from the base workshops (LST and Athena). Throughout the workshops, data will be gathered through individual interviews and participant observation, along with pre- and post- surveys aimed at identifying needs and assessing the impact of the workshops.