“A Really High Hurdle”

Summary The procedure in Japan for changing an individual’s legal gender is regressive and harmful. It rests on an outdated and pejorative notion that a transgender identity is a mental health condition, and requires transgender people who want legal recognition to undergo lengthy, expensive, invasive, and irreversible medical procedures. The relevant legislation—known as the “Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act”—is contrary to international human rights law and international medical best practices. And while some trans people in Japan desire a diagnosis of “Gender Identity Disorder” (性同一性障害)…

© Human Rights Watch - mercredi 20 mars 2019