International Transgender Day of Visibility

By Aditi Iyenger, Communications and Advocacy Officer, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

March 31 is celebrated as the International Transgender Day of Visibility every year, to raise awareness on the discrimination and struggles faced by transgender people, and to celebrate their contributions to society. Although the transgender movement has grown considerably over the last few decades, there remain several challenges, including pushback by anti-trans groups and right-wing political actors, that undermine the rights of transgender people, making them more prone to discrimination, poor health, and violence. This has serious negative consequences for the transgender community, especially in accessing safe, inclusive, and affordable sexual and reproductive healthcare. (Human Rights Campaign).

Although research and advocacy on this issue has grown over the last ten years, current research literature on transgender rights is still limited in terms of geographic locations, reproductive health topics, study designs, analytical strategies, and the types of populations studied, according to a study published in SRHM in 2021: Mapping the scientific literature on reproductive health among transgender and gender diverse people. It emphasizes that additional research needs to be conducted on transgender SRHR, not only in western regions, but especially in the Global South which is often under-represented, with a focus on rural and indigenous populations.

In 2020, a roundtable discussion – Young people’s views on religious fundamentalism, ethno-nationalism and SRHR: an SRHM South Asia virtual roundtable discussion – was published in the SRHM journal, which explored perspectives of young people from five countries in South Asia, on how their social identity and location affects their SRHR. This discussion explored how religious fundamentalism influences key national laws, mentioning how the Indian Supreme Court relied upon Hindu Scriptures and the link between Hinduism and trans identities, to pass a judgement on the rights of transgender people. This is one of many examples, where conservative religious norms, nationalist discourse, and discriminatory legislation restrict the SRHR and autonomy of young people, especially that of transgender people.

The SRHM journal routinely publishes articles on the status and progress on transgender rights, and the challenges that transgender people from different regions of the world face while trying to access equitable and inclusive sexual and reproductive healthcare. These papers offer crucial insights on transgender people’s own lived experiences that vary with respect to geography and socioeconomic status, as well as recommendations on transforming research to action, to influence policy-level changes that can improve transgender people’s rights and access to sexual and reproductive health, and empower them.

Please find below a list of papers that address different aspects of transgender rights, published by SRHM over the past ten years.

2023:

Advocacy for resourcing feminist and women’s rights movements: an interview with the association for women’s rights in development (AWID)

Cindy Clark, Kasia Staszewska, Tenzin Dolker & T.K. Sundari Ravindran

Decriminalisation and the end of AIDS: keep the promise, follow the science, and fulfill human rights

UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights

Forgotten by donors: a call to action by persons with disabilities to resource disability justice within sexual and reproductive health rights funding

Lisa Adams

“I would love for there not to be so many hoops …”: recommendations to improve abortion service access and experiences made by Indigenous women and 2SLGTBQIA+ people in Canada

Renée Monchalin, Danette Jubinville, Astrid V. Pérez Piñán, et al.

2022:

Self-administration of gender-affirming hormones: a systematic review of effectiveness, cost, and values and preferences of end-users and health workers