Tamil Nadu Medical Council Mandates Training on Transgender Health and LGBTQIA+ Rights
In a big move to make healthcare more inclusive in Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC) has ordered all doctors, medical teachers, and students to attend special training sessions on transgender health, LGBTQIA+ issues, and the rights of sexual minorities. This step aims to ensure everyone in the medical field treats these communities with respect and dignity.
The decision comes right after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched the State Policy for Transgender Persons in July. This policy focuses on boosting the socio-economic status of transgender people over the next five years through various support programs.
TNMC’s circular makes it clear: every Continuing Medical Education (CME) program in the state now needs dedicated sessions on transgender health and wider LGBTQIA+ topics. The council’s registrar called this training "essential" to help medical professionals deliver fair care and follow ethical and legal standards.
These sessions will also teach about banning harmful practices like "conversion therapy," which experts around the world have rejected as ineffective and damaging.
Doctors and institutions can run these trainings as separate CME events or weave them into regular classes. Medical colleges and training centers must submit reports to TNMC within 30 days to confirm they’ve completed the programs. The council will keep an eye on things by checking records and ensuring everyone follows through.
The training will cover best ways to handle medical education and care for transgender individuals. It will also feature real stories from transgender and LGBTQIA+ people to build empathy and challenge old stereotypes that block access to healthcare.
The new state policy goes beyond training. It offers scholarships for transgender and intersex students in higher education, appoints counselors in colleges, sets up short-stay homes for transgender people, and starts a toll-free helpline for support.
This is Tamil Nadu’s first big push to create strong systems for the transgender community. By making this training mandatory, TNMC highlights how doctors and healthcare workers can help build welcoming spaces.
For transgender and LGBTQIA+ folks who have faced stigma and discrimination for years, these changes bring hope for better recognition, safety, and respect in Tamil Nadu’s healthcare world.
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