The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People
The
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in New Zealand enjoy the majority of the same rights as others. The exceptions to this are the right to adopt children as a couple and the right to marry. While New Zealand does not have anti-discrimination laws specific to transgender, the laws that do exist are thought to cover members of the trans communities. The Human Rights Act 1993 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.
The Report of the Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People was a world first by a national human rights institution and focused on three areas: trans people’s experience with health care access, everyday interactions and community participation. There is very little information about the number of trans people in New Zealand; and those numbers that do exist are suggested to significantly underestimate the size of the trans population.
Terminology used
The Inquiry recognised that both gender identity and its expression can vary significantly and as such, the report adopted ‘trans’ as a generic term. Other terms that can be used include the following:[2]
- Whakawahine, Hinehi, Hinehua: Māori terms for someone born with a male body who has a female gender identity
- Tangata ira tane: a Māori term for someone born with a female body who has a male gender identity.
- Transgender: a person whose gender is different from their assigned gender at birth.
- Genderqueer: people who do not conform to traditional gender norms.
- Intersex: a variety of conditions in which a person is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not seem to fit the typical biological definitions of male / female.
Health Care Access
It was found that trans people face difficulties when accessing the same general
The
Confusion and difficulties surrounding the cost of health care for trans people also presented significant challenges; while the cost of
The Inquiry suggests that the biggest gains for trans people in the short to medium term may be through better support in
Socially
At School
A gender identity that is not congruent with one's body can lead to feelings of
At Work
Employment was also an issue that was brought to the Inquiry. The key concerns were access to employment, job retention, workplace safety and promotion. “The incidence of discrimination faced by trans people is high. Four out of five submissions described examples of discrimination that ranged from harassment at work to vicious assault and sexual abuse.” [5]
At Home
Another common difficulty faced was regarding access to housing; trans people spoke about experiencing discrimination when looking at housing (most of this feedback was received in relation to renting).
In addition to this, daily challenges included access to public toilets which often posed issues for trans people; while public places must be accessible to all who wish to use them, ensuring fair and manageable access to everyone requires a balance of interests. “Inability to access public toilets had a major, daily impact.”[6]
Community Participation
The Inquiry found that an issue for trans people often centres around official documentation; “documents that accord with a trans person’s gender identity affirm their dignity and secure participation as equal citizens.” [7] While a case has been submitted for trans people to be able to obtain documents that reflect their gender identity, the Inquiry states, “the process for changing sex details on official documents should be simplified to reflect the reality.”[8]
The Inquiry considers that the current law provides an adequate framework both for trans people to assert their rights to privacy of personal information and for agencies holding such information to respect these rights. However, inconsistencies in practice and the importance of these issues to trans people indicate that it would be useful to have resources that dealt specifically with how current laws apply to personal information about them.
Recommendations
- The Inquiry considers that trans people would have clearer legal protection from discrimination if section 21(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1993 should be amended to clearly state gender identity.
- Enable effective participation by trans people in decisions that affect them
- Reduce discrimination and marginalisationexperienced by trans people
- Improving trans people's access to public health services and developing treatment pathways and standards of care for gender reassignment services
- Simplify the requirements for changing sex details on a birth certificate, a passport and other documents to ensure consistency with the HRA
- Consider the specific human rights issues facing intersex people
Conclusion of the Inquiry
The implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Inquiry are necessary to ensure that trans people and their families enjoy the same rights as other people in New Zealand.
“The international human rights framework applies to everyone by virtue of their common humanity. Trans people are, therefore, entitled to respect for and protection and promotion of their human rights on the same basis as everyone else.”
The HRC has a continuing role to play in implementing the Transgender Inquiry to galvanise the impetus for change that has been generated. The Commission's specific role includes providing human rights education on issues for trans people and facilitating dialogues.
What has happened since the Inquiry?
The focus is now on implementing the Inquiry's recommendations and other suggested actions. This requires work by the Human Rights Commission, government agencies, trans people and the wider community.[9]
Counties Manukau District Health Board CMDHB was funded to manage a small national project looking at Gender Reassignment Health Services for transgender people in New Zealand. On 1 August 2011 the project's good practice guide for health professionals was published on the Ministry of Health's website.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Human Rights Commission :: The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People". www.hrc.co.nz. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 12
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 31
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 42
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 65
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 39
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 79
- ^ Human Rights Commission, “Report of The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People” (2008) at 88
- ^ "Human Rights Commission :: The Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People". www.hrc.co.nz. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Counties Manukau District Health Board, Revised Draft ‐ Gender Reassignment Health Services for Trans People within New Zealand: Good Practice Guide for Health Professionals (2011) accessible at http://www.hrc.co.nz/newsletters/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Revised_Draft_Gender_Reassignment_Health_Services_For_Trans_People_within_NZ_Guide-2.pdf Archived 2011-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
External links
Human Rights Commission
- http://www.hrc.co.nz/ Archived 4 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- http://www.agender.org.nz/index2.html
- http://www.ianz.org.nz