Scientists want to remove transgender people from the WHO list of mental disorders
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With the aim of removing transgender people from the classification of mental disorders in the World Health Organization (WHO), Mexican scientists conducted the first field study demonstrating that changes in gender identity are not a disease.
The study, published in the British medical journal “The Lancet Psychiatry”, was presented at Mexico this Thursday by health authorities and the WHO.
"We are immersed in a culture that divides bodies into a binary of male/female, man/woman. There were many societies and cultures that perceived living beings in a non-binary way", says VivianeViviane Vergueiro, economist and researcher: 'Trans people have the right to presumption of innocence'
The research is the first of several that are already being carried out in Brazil, France, India, Lebanon and South Africa, and which will be presented in 2018 in the discussion of the 11th version of the WHO's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which serves as a medical reference for member countries.
"This reclassification will not only promote the discussion of new health policies so that the trans community has better access to health and care services, but also (…) can help reduce the stigma and rejection of which they are victims", he stated Ana Fresán, one of the study’s authors.
Research demonstrates that psychiatric issues in the transsexual population are a product of the violence and discrimination they suffer and not, as currently classified, a product of their transsexuality.
"If it's not a disease now, then it never was, let's be clear, it's not that it was a disease before and now it isn't," he explained. Eduardo Madrigal, president of the Mexican Psychiatric Association.
The field study consisted of 260 interviews with transgender adults (over 18 years of age) who receive medical care at the Condesa specialized clinic, which exclusively treats sexually transmitted diseases.
The president of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, Alexandra Haas, stated that “it is problematic to assume trans identity as a pathology”.
"Thinking of identity as a disease forces us to seek a cure, and instead institutional efforts must focus on recognizing diversity, promoting inclusion and guaranteeing rights," he added.
Source: The Globe
