Findings of a landmark human rights study on legal gender recognition for trans

PRESS RELEASE Findings of a landmark human rights study on legal gender recognition for transgender people in Asia released
 
Bangkok, 19 September 2017 – The vast majority of transgender people across the region are unable to obtain any official identification documents that reflect their gender identity. This lack of gender recognition fosters widespread social exclusion, stigma, discrimination and violence when individuals are perceived to deviate from gender norms because their gender identity and/or expression does not coincide with their sex assigned at birth.
 
This is one of the key findings from the study entitled Legal Gender Recognition of Transgender People: A Multi-Country Legal and Policy Review in Asia. Released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN), the study was conducted over an 18-month period and provides a comprehensive review of existing laws, policies and practices in nine countries in Asia. Over 220 transgender people from more than 80 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) civil society groups added their voice and lived realities to the study.
 
“Legal gender recognition can be a first step in addressing stigma and discrimination, but it is far from enough, it is the practice in reality that matters in the end,” said H.E. Staffan Herrström, Ambassador for Sweden in Thailand. “Concerted efforts are needed to work against stigma and discrimination of transgender people. We in the international community can contribute to address discrimination and violence through our engagement, financial support and willingness to listen.”
 
Legal gender recognition is the official recognition of a person’s gender identity, including gendered information and name in public registries and key documents. It is a fundamental requirement for many transgender people to meaningfully participate in society and to prevent discrimination. Globally, there is a movement to provide legal gender recognition to transgender people based on human rights standards that respect self-determination.
 
“This report illustrates that a lack of legal gender recognition remains one of the most significant barriers to social inclusion, access to health and social services and enjoyment of human rights for transgender people in Asia,” stated Nadia Rasheed, Team Leader of the HIV, Health and Development Team of UNDP in Asia Pacific.
 
The report found that progress has been made in the provision of legal gender recognition in many of the countries reviewed; Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan recognize a third gender on specific government-issued documents.
 
Of the countries reviewed, only China provides a clear administrative process for transgender people to change gender markers on official identity documents from male to female or vice versa. The process, however, is subject to restrictive eligibility criteria.
 
"Gender identity should have no bearing or barrier on whether someone can enjoy fundamental rights, like the ability to be recognized by their government or to access health care, employment or education without gender discrimination, hence legal gender identity recognition is of absolute importance to the livelihoods, safety and wellbeing of trans peoples,” said Phylesha Brown-Acton, Co-Chair, Asia Pacific Transgender Network.
 
Among the reviewed countries in which gender recognition has not been formalized, progress has been made in other areas. For instance, in 2015, Thailand’s Gender Equality Act specifically included transgender people under the definition of ‘gender’ and as protected from unfair gender discrimination; in the Philippines, gender identity is included as a protected ground in some local anti-discrimination ordinances.
 
Despite positive policy developments in some countries, the report illustrates that eligibility criteria or other restrictions set out in laws, policies, regulations or court decisions, or imposed through administrative practices, effectively exclude many transgender people from obtaining government identification documents which reflect their gender identity.
 
These restrictions include requiring gender affirming medical interventions, a mental health diagnosis, family approval and that applicants are unmarried (and if they are already married, requiring proof of divorce) to avail legal gender recognition. They contribute to social stigma and discrimination, and often contradict existing constitutional rights against discrimination.
 
For more information please contact:
 
Ian Mungall, Programme Analyst, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub
Email: ian.mungall@undp.org | Mobile: +66 (0) 909710908
 
Marli Gutierrez, Communications Officer, Asia Pacific Transgender Network
Email: marli.gutierrez@weareaptn.org | Mobile: +66 (0) 949746656
 
About UNDP
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. For more information, visit: http://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/
 
About APTN
APTN engages with a range of partners, globally and across Asia and the Pacific, to support, organise, and advocate for comprehensive healthcare and the protection of legal, social and human rights for trans and gender diverse people. These collaborators include trans communities, academia, the health sector, multilateral and bilateral  agencies, governmental organizations and NGOs, donors, and other stakeholders. Since its founding in 2009, APTN has published several key reports, policy and technical briefs, in partnership with other community-based groups and multilateral organisations,  that have been used to inform policy and laws. For more information, visit: http://www.weareaptn.org/