Le Provence:
Transsexualism will no longer be classified as a mental illness in France
Published on Saturday 16 May 2009
Translated by Curtis E. Hinkle, Founder of the Organisation Intersex International
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Transsexualism will no longer be
classified in France as a mental illness, a government decision hailed Saturday
as "historic" by the associations concerned, on the eve of the International Day
Against Homophobia and transphobia.
The Minister of Health, Roselyne Bachelot, has appealed "in recent days" to the
High Authority of Health in order to make a decree that transsexualism be
removed from the category of psychiatric disorders, a spokesman for the
department stated.
Until now, transsexuals benefited from a fee waiver for their medical care by
being classified under ALD23 (affection de longue durée 23 – long term condition
23) for “recurring or persistent disorders”.
For the Department of Health, it is a "strong signal sent to the whole
community", since transsexuals felt that being included under the ALD23 was
stigmatizing.
This classification, arising from that of the World Health Organization (WHO),
was also linked to the fact that transsexualism appeared on the list of
pathologies identified in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders) to which the medical profession refers, as was the case for
homosexuality a few years ago.
In a forum published in Le Monde (newspaper) dated Sunday-Monday, numerous
personalities including first secretary of the Socialist Party Martine Aubry,
the communist Marie-George Buffet, Green (party member) Daniel Cohn-Bendit and
even Nobel Prize winners such as Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (medicine) and
Elfriede Jelinek (literature), asked the WHO “to no longer consider transsexuals
as being affected by a mental disorder".
It is because the WHO decided on the 17th of May 1990 to remove homosexuality
from the list of mental illnesses, that this date has been retained for the
International Day Against Homophobia and transphobia, celebrated Sunday,
starting Saturday in many places.
It is therefore symbolic that France chose this time and date to be "the first
country in the world" to "remove transgender identity from the list of mental
diseases", commented the IDAHO Committee. This "historic decision" is also "an
explosion of hope for all trans persons around the world", according to Joël
Bedos, secretary-general of the IDAHO Committee.
The HES (Association for Homosexuality and Socialism) also “hailed” this
announcement which is in response to “demands that the LGBT community have been
making for a long time in France.” For HES, it is time, at present, to go beyond
the symbolic and take concrete actions to fight against the violence and
discrimination facing trans persons.
Because beyond "this measure for declassification, there is still much to be
done before transsexuals (...) are recognized as full-fledged citizens",
insisted the coordinator of the group Inter-LGBT.
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