France Declassifies Transsexualism

TRANSSEXUALISM will no longer be classified as a mental illness in France

published on Saturday 16 May 2009 at 20H07


Translated by Curtis E. Hinkle, Founder of the Organisation Intersex
International


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.


Original French article:
http://www.laprovence.com/articles/2009/05/16/817434-France-La-transs...