Restriction of Access to Healthcare and Discrimination of Individuals of Sexual and Gender Minority

An Analysis of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights from an Ethical Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID15470744
AuthorsTobias Skuban-Eiseler (0000-0002-7754-6904, Universität Ulm), Marcin Orzechowski (0000-0003-4244-7989, Universität Ulm, corresponding author), Florian Steger (0000-0001-8108-1591, Universität Ulm)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue5
Pages2650-2650
Publication date2022-02-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19052650
PMID35270340
OpenAlexW4214540972
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited32

Individuals of sexual and gender minority (SGM) form a vulnerable group with specific healthcare needs that might be prone to experience discrimination and restrictions regarding their access to healthcare. As the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) offer a normative perspective on these issues, we analyzed them systematically (1) to identify whether and in what manner ECtHR's judgments concern restriction of access to healthcare for SGM individuals and (2) to identify and categorize the ways of discrimination to which SGM individuals are exposed. We conducted a systematic search of the database of the ECtHR's judgments with the use of specified search terms. Descriptive statistics were performed on the identified judgments. Subsequently, we analyzed the judgments with the use of a qualitative method of thematic analysis. We identified n = 73 cases relevant for our study. In n = 7 (9.59%) of judgments, we found limitations of access to healthcare for SGM individuals, e.g., in cases of restrictions for transsexual individuals to receive hormone or surgical therapy. We regard this as a specific form of discrimination. Furthermore, we identified five other categories of discrimination: restriction of parental rights, failure to respect one's gender identity/sexual orientation, discrimination by jurisdiction, prohibition of promotion, and verbal/physical attacks. The ECtHR proves to have a balanced view on the sensitive topic of sexual self-determination condemning any form of discrimination or restriction of access to healthcare. However, there is a need for further research on discriminatory acts by other individuals, e.g., healthcare providers, rather than by public authorities

Health care · Human rights · Jurisdiction · Normative · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Qualitative research · Sexual orientation · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Transgender · Transsexual · Discrimination and Equality Law · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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