The transgender community remains doubly marginalised — both at the societal and the policy levels. Despite the enactment of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which pledged to end discrimination and ensure equal access to education, welfare and employment, most members of this diverse constituency still face harassment. The discrimination begins early on. This is what was found in a recent survey conducted by the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights which focused on the predicament of transgender children living in rural areas. According to the survey, which studied 1,500 individuals, aged 14-18, across Calcutta, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Murshidabad, about 20% of gender non-conforming teenagers faced discrimination at the hands of their family members and about 73.6% of transgender-identifying minors did not feel safe at home. This sense of unease extends to educational institutions too: nearly 62.5% of the respondents felt uncomfortable at school with many of them apprehensive about using the school toilets. Unsurprisingly, hospitals and clinics, spaces that hetero-normative citizens take for granted, pose challenges as well. This perpetual sense of discomfort — fear — the survey found, is causing acute mental health problems in transgender teenagers; some are even turning suicidal.
These findings are consistent with global figures. The 2021 Trevor Project survey, for instance, found that transgenders are 2.4 times more vulnerable to anxiety and depression than the rest of society. Another study showed that transgender adolescents were 7.6 times as likely to attempt suicide as their cisgender peers. There is also the case of the underreporting of the challenges faced by transgender citizens. Eradicating deep-rooted biases is the obvious solution. But this is a herculean task given how adversarial the ambience seems to be at home and in school. Is there a case for extending anti-ragging regulations to punish discrimination on the basis of sexual identity in schools? Families must also take on the task of inculcating sensitivity at home. The National Education Policy, 2020 promised progressive and gender-inclusive features in the education system. Sadly, the notion of ‘gender’ remains trapped in binaries, leading to the exclusion of fluid identities. A rights-based policy that recognises the need for society and institutions to uphold the fundamental rights of all citizens irrespective of their sexual orientation is the need of the hour.
