Pointing to a huge gap in mental health care and palliative care for gender minorities based on inputs provided by 60 participants of a workshop

Abstract

Sahodaran Community Oriented Health

Development (SCOHD) was founded in 1998 at

Puducherry (in India) to protect the rights of MSM

and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender persons

(LGBT).1 They and the members of their

collaborating institutions were disturbed with

frequent news of suicidal attempts and runaway by

the community members in SCOHD, and majority of

them were transgender. In order to take a positive

step to address this problem, a two-day workshop to

explore the health needs and to introduce the

concepts of palliative care for life limiting conditions

and coping mechanisms for mental health issues to

transgender in SCOHD was organized in Puducherry

with the help of experts in the field.