A new report from Carers UK sheds valuable light on the experience of trans carers and indicates that they may face additional difficulties in their caring role. 

Drawing on interviews with four carers whose gender identity is the not the same as their sex registered at birth, the report aims to address a current gap in the research on unpaid care. 

It shows that trans carers encounter many of the same challenges as cisgender carers: a lack of recognition of their caring role, limited financial support, an inability to take a break from caring, and poor mental and physical wellbeing. 

However, experiences of discrimination and prejudice can exacerbate these difficulties for trans carers, particularly when it comes to mental health.  

Feelings of isolation stemmed from a lack of social and familial support, which sometimes resulted from prejudice surrounding trans carers’ gender identity. One trans carer described how he had ‘lost’ his parents after coming out and had not spoken with his father since.  

These insights are particularly concerning given the wider picture of loneliness and poor mental health amongst carers. Recent Carers UK’s research has found that half (50%) of carers feel lonely and half (49%) feel depressed, often because they are unable to spend time with family or friends, or because they feel their caring role is unrecognised by society.  

Trans carers may also be more unlikely to seek help with their mental health due to previous negative experiences. 

Crucially, the report showed that trans carers can experience additional barriers accessing support from health and social services, either for themselves or the person they care for. A separate interviewee noted that he is often mis-gendered when attending medical appointments with his partner, which he found ‘upsetting’ and ‘invalidating’. 

It is vital that health and social care services are inclusive to all carers, regardless of background. 

Although the small sample size makes it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from the research, it serves as a useful reminder of the need to integrate trans experiences of care into policy and practice.