Reply and Recommendation of Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association to the list of issues on ICESCR
社團法人台灣同志諮詢熱線協會對經社文公約問題清單之回應與建議
Article:
Article 12, ICESCR
(No. 15, List of Issues ROC State Report on ICESCR)
Comment and Recommendation(Chinese):
1. 回應經社文公約問題清單第15題，經社文公約第十二條於此問題是關於跨性別及雙性人的健康權。根據經社文公約第十二條，國家應採取一切手段去滿足每一個人的健康權，包含跨性別與雙性人族群。
2. 跨性別在台灣仍然被認定為一種精神疾病。跨性別在忽略其自主意願下，被視為病人而非完整個人。跨性別不能自我選擇跟變更身份證件上的性別註記；亦不能在不經醫療診斷跟完成相關醫療程序下，獲得相關醫療服務。換句話說，在疾病化下，個人性別認同的自決權並不被承認為一種基本的方向。且性別重置手術目前仍是變更法律性別的必要條件，應改變既有的規定，讓跨性別擁有自由選擇性別的權利。
3. 姓名及身份證字號的變更記錄及變更性別的事由都會記錄在戶籍謄本中，使得警察及金融機構相關人員輕易便能調閱得知，侵害變性的跨性別隱私。如臨檢時，跨性別經常因此遭受警方的刁難。
4. 為了建立跨性別及雙性人的完整自我認可，與確立其健康權，台灣同志諮詢熱線協會作出建議如下：
(1) 充分尊重：國家應該採取所有必要的立法、行政和其他措施，以確保每個人自我認定的性別認同，獲得充分尊重和法律承認。（日熱惹原則第三條B項）
(2) 將跨性別於精神疾病名單上移除。（美國心理學會已於2012年將其於診斷基礎中移除）
(3) 選擇身份證件上性別註記的自由：取消身份證件上的性別欄，或者給予跨性別及雙性人完全的自由，不需經由性別重置手術，即可選擇跟改變他們在身份證件上偏好的性別。（「國家應採取所有必要的立法、行政和其他措施，以確保現有的所有由國家頒發的標明一個人性别的身份證明文件——包括出生證、護照、選民登記和其他文件——的程序反映該人發自内心的自我認定的性別認同。」，見《日惹原則》第三條C項。）
(4) 醫療隱私與一般隱私：
(a) 醫療機構與政府應保護變性者相關的隱私資料。
(b) 戶政機構應隱藏變性相關資料，包含原本生理性別與原身分證字號。
(5) 社會福利與健保應針對跨性別與雙性人之需求，擴張福利涵蓋範圍。
Comment and Recommendation(English):
1. To respond question No. 15 in List of Issues ROC State Report of ICESCR that Art. 12 (ICESCR) is right to health for transgender and intersex people in this communication. According to Art. 12, State shall take all measures to fulfill right to health for everyone including transgender and intersex people.
2. Transgender is still considered as a mental illness in Taiwan. Transgender people are treated as patients but not full human beings against their own willing. Transgender people cannot choose and change their own gender shown on ID Card, nor accessing medical services they need without going medial diagnosed and through whole medical process. In other words, individual’s gender identity is not recognized as a basic aspect of self-determination right under pathologization. Sex reassignment surgery is still required in order to change legal sex on documents. The existing regulations shall be changed to ensure freedom of self-defined gender for transgender.
3. Original name, original ID number (in Taiwan system, male starts from 1 and female starts from 2.), original biological sex and sex reassignment surgery will be noted in household certificate transcript. Police and financial institutions can easily access related information which violating transgender’s privacy. For instance, transgender are facing difficulties under police spot checking for this reason.
4. To establish full self recognition and ensure right to health of transgender and intersex people, recommendations made by Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association as below:
(1) Fully Respect: State shall take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to fully respect and legally recognize each person’s self-defined gender identity. (Art. 3 (B), Yogykarta Principles)
(2) Lift transgender from mental illness disease list. The American Psychological Association (APA) has removed it from DNS in 2012.
(3) Freedom of choosing self-defined gender identity on identity documents: Cancel the sex column on identify documents or give fully freedom for transgender and intersex people to choose and change their preferential gender which will be shown on identity documents without sex reassignment surgery. (“State shall take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure that procedures exist whereby all State-issued identity papers which indicate a person’s gender/sex —including birth certificates, passports, electoral records and other documents — reflect the person’s profound self-defined gender identity.” See Art. 3 (C), Yogyakarta Principles)
(4) Medical privacy and general privacy:
(a) Medical institutions and government shall protect related information of people who had sex reassignment surgery.
(b) Household registration authorities shall hide data related to sex changed, including original biological sex and original ID number.
(5) Social welfare and public health insurance system shall expand coverage for the needs of transgender and intersex people.