Transgender News Archive

Australian & World news items of interest will be added to this section from time to time.

2005

Sad Passing of Medical Pioneer

2004

Death of David Reimer
An Evolution, not Revolution in Iran
House of Lords Unanimously Upholds Trans Person's Claims to Become Police Officer
Transsexual Dropped from Miss Universe

2003

Transsexual Marriage Legitimate, Court Says
Mardi Gras Forum 2003 - The Neglected Communities

Sad Passing of Medical Pioneer

It is with sadness that I have to report the death of Herbert Bower, he passed away in his sleep on Sunday.

He will be sadly missed. He worked with transsexual people on many levels for 50 years.

I was lucky to attend a seminar on 7th August where he spoke about the work he has done & the work he would love to continue in the f ield of research if there was funding.

He was bright, his sense of humour showed thru as did the brilliance of his mind. Sadly his body failed him.

- Michael Mitchell.

The Gender Centre passes on its condolences to Dr. Bower's family and friends.

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Death of David Reimer

The Gender Centre is saddened to hear the news that David Reimer, the person at the centre of the John / Joan / John documentary has committed suicide.

Most of you will be familiar with David's story and the trauma that he suffered throughout his life in his struggle to reclaim his gender following a botched circumcision when he was an infant.

Our condolences to all who knew him. This is a tragic end to a tragic story.

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An Evolution not Revolution in Iran

The recent news that some judges in Iran have been issuing permits for sex-change operations, upon medical proof of gender-identity disorder, was staggering. These are religious edicts from Iranian Islamic theologians. The kind that are supposed to be ultra-conservative. And in Iran, where transsexuals, only recently, were punished severely.

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House of Lords unanimously upholds trans person's claim to become a police officer

The House of Lords has today ruled unanimously that it was unlawful sex discrimination by the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire to refuse to employ a trans person, as a police officer. Her case was supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission (E.O.C.).

Julie Mellor, Chair of the E.O.C., welcomed the landmark decision, saying:

This ruling makes it crystal clear that employers must treat trans people applying for a job in line with the sex in which they live. The thousands of trans people who live in Britain today need to be able to get on with their lives without constantly battling discrimination. That includes not having their range of job opportunities restricted as a result of undergoing gender reassignment. This decision and the introduction of the Gender Recognition Bill leave no room for doubt that they have a right to full recognition in their reassigned gender.

The trans person said:

I'm delighted by this decision. It finally confirms that trans people have the same rights as everyone else. A lot of people have worked very hard for many years to win this case. I could never have won on my own. I am grateful to them all, and I would particularly like to thank the E.O.C. Without their backing I wouldn't have stood a chance.

The West Yorkshire Constabulary accepted her application to become a police officer, allowing her to complete a recruit assessment, and a further assessment and physical fitness test at the Police Training School in 1997. The Force's Equal Opportunities Officer had assured her that trans people were allowed to serve as police officers although there would be occasions when they would not be allowed to search suspects. However she was later told that the Force had decided not to appoint trans people, on the basis that a trans person would not be able to undertake searches on people in custody, and so would not be able to undertake the full duties of a police constable.

The House of Lords rejected that argument, relying directly on the European Court of Justice judgement in "P" v "S" and Cornwall County Council (1996), which ruled that for the purposes of discrimination between men and women in the fields covered by the Equal Treatment Directive, a trans person is to be regarded as having the sexual identity of the gender to which he or she has been assigned.

The Court noted that there had been significant developments in domestic and European law during the course of this case. It also pointed out that the Gender Recognition Bill, currently before Parliament, lays down a comprehensive scheme for recognising the reassigned gender of a trans person in defined circumstances; and that in policy terms, therefore, the view has been taken that trans people properly belong to the gender in which they live.

The case will now be returned to the Employment Tribunal to assess compensation.

Notes to Editors

Discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment affects a significant number of people. There are approximately 5,000 trans people in the U.K. (source: D.F.E.E.: A Guide to the Sex Discrimination Gender Reassignment Regulations 1999).

"P" v "S" and Cornwall County Council (1996) ruled that for the purposes of discrimination between men and women in the fields covered by Equal Treatment Directive, a trans person is to be regarded as having the sexual identity of the gender to which he or she has been assigned. The case was supported by the E.O.C.

A second recent case supported by the E.O.C. also clarified the rights of trans people. In "K.B. v National Health Service the E.C.J. held that it was impermissible to deny a widower's pension to the female to male trans person with whom "K.B." had celebrated what would have been a marriage had it been possible in English Law.

The Chief Constable's position was that as in domestic law Ms A continued to be regarded as a man, she could not carry out routine searches on women nor carry out searches on men; that the ability to carry out searches was a "genuine occupational qualification" (G.O.Q.) for the office of Constable; and that it was therefore lawful to discriminate against her. This was based on the fact that section 54(9) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires that male officers search male suspects and female officers search female officers. The House of Lords rejected this argument, as well as the applicability of the concept of a G.O.Q., as it found that A must be treated as woman.

The Chief Constable conceded throughout the case that if a G.O.Q. did not apply, the discrimination was unlawful.

The Gender Recognition Bill will ensure that trans people can take up their fundamental rights including the right to respect for private and family life and the right to marry. The Bill allows trans people who have taken decisive steps to live fully and permanently in their acquired gender to gain legal recognition in that gender. It will give trans people the right, from the date of recognition, to marry in their acquired gender and be given birth certificates that recognise the acquired gender. Trans people will be able to obtain benefits just like anyone else of that gender.

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Transsexual Dropped from Miss Universe (China)

Transgender model Chen Lili has been ordered to pull out of the Miss Universe competition by pageant officials, despite the Chinese headquarters ruling last week that she could enter.

The 24-year-old contestant was said to be "ecstatic" at having being allowed to enter the competition, although the Chinese officials had warned that they would be looking into the regulations to check if she was allowed to enter.

The New York-based headquarters of the pageant admitted on Friday that there had never been a transgender contestant before, but ruled that she should not be allowed to compete.

"The sex of the candidates should be female at birth and cannot be artificially changed," Zhang Ruiling, chairman of the selection committee, told reporters.

The committee, however, asked Lili to perform at the Miss Sichuan pageant, according to the Independent newspaper.

Lili had hoped to win the Sichuan Province title, before going on to the Chinese national competition and the final global event, to be held in Ecuador later this year.

Lili first made headlines when she became the first person in China to win the right to change her birth details and have the certificate reflect her real gender.

She has so far not commented on whether she will challenge the ruling.

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Transsexual Marriage Legitimate, Court Says

The Full Court of the Family Court has rejected a bid by the Federal Attorney-General to rule a marriage between a transsexual and a woman invalid. The Attorney-General had sought to overturn the validity of the marriage because the transsexual was registered as a woman at birth. He since underwent surgery and hormone treatment and lives and is recognised as a man. The court has ruled that because the person, known as Kevin, was a man at the time of the marriage in 1999, the marriage is valid. The Attorney-General has the right to appeal to the High Court.

source: ABC News Online

For a full report and a link to the full judgment, please visit the Wallbanks Legal website.

To read what the press said, please follow the links below:

Sydney Morning Herald

The Age (Melbourne)

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Mardi Gras Forum 2003 - The Neglected Communities

On 25 February 2003, the Anti-Discrimination Board held a public forum at the Jubilee Room of N.S.W. Parliament House, which explored the outstanding areas of law and public policy reform relating to "the neglected communities" - bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex people. Please visit the following two links to read the papers presented by Elizabeh Riley and Rachael Wallbank.

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