Abstract: Levinasian relational ethics as the foundation of trans-affirmative social work

To help trans children and young people achieve sustainable happiness and a quality of life in solidarity, more than acceptance is required — a profound reorientation of relationships is necessary. A Levinasian approach to social work, based on unconditional responsibility for others (Levinas’s ‘wisdom of love’) and justice towards third parties, offers precisely this path.

• Trans children can be happy when they are accepted unconditionally for who they are, without having to explain or justify themselves in relationships.
• An altruistic quality of life develops when relationships with others are not controlling, but listening and responsive — creating a space for compassion and resonance.
• Solidarity is created when the ‘other third party’ — e.g. the trans community or other marginalised children — is also considered in care. In this way, relationships become equitable rather than exclusive.

Reference to the JBI model:

The Levinasian approach can be integrated into the JBI model’s understanding of evidence-based practice, particularly through:

• the central importance of the experiential knowledge of trans children and young people;
• the ethically reflective practice of professionals (in line with ‘clinical expertise’),
• and critically interpreting scientific evidence, which is never objective but always situated.

Levinas’ ethics calls for a radical reversal of relationships, not as the application of norms, but as an unconditional turning towards vulnerable others. This makes it the ethical foundation of trans-affirmative, evidence-informed, and deeply just social work.