Empowerment Approach to Social Work with Transgender Youth: A Literature Review

Transgender youth are among the disadvantaged groups living under pressure in society. One of the emancipatory values of the social work profession, which advocates for human rights and social justice, is empowerment. Therefore, it is among the responsibilities of the social work profession to fight together with transgender youth on a dialogic axis so that they can become more empowered and live a free and dignified life. However, it is observed that research and practice examples in Turkey on the empowerment approach to social work with transgender youth are limited. Therefore, the aim of this article is to evaluate the issue of empowerment-oriented social work with transgender youth through studies in the international literature. In the relevant literature, it is addressed that transgender youth experience oppression at the intersection of gender and age-based discrimination ideologies. In other words, within the framework of the literature examined in this article, it can be concluded that the oppression-based discourses and actions created by cissexist and adultist discrimination ideologies affect the power of transgender youth in society at personal, relational, communal, cultural and structural levels. This conclusion was evaluated through empowerment-oriented social work models and practice examples with transgender youth in the international literature. It is hoped that the recommendations developed based on these evaluations will offer an insight into academics and experts working with transgender youth in Turkey.