Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific In many parts of the region, police and other State actors have been implicated in violence against transgender people, particularly transgender women. This is common in jurisdictions where crossdressing or sex work is criminalised. When transgender people are detained under these laws, they are vulnerable to abuse under search and detention policies that do not recognise their gender identity. UN human rights mechanisms have highlighted concerns about violence and abuse against transgender people in detention, particularly transgender women held in male prisons. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission and the Australian Human Rights Commission have each called for detention policies within their respective countries to be reviewed to address transgender people’s right to safety and their right to access rehabilitation services and medically necessary hormone therapy.197 In Hong Kong, the Equal Opportunities Commission supported a qualitative study conducted by the Transgender Resource Centre examining transgender people’s experiences with security services, including the Police Force, Immigration Department and the Correctional Services Department.198 3.5. GENDER RECOGNITION 3.5.1. Importance of gender recognition The importance of legal gender recognition is often not easily understood by people who are not transgender. Most people do not have to worry about whether identification documents include sex or gender details and whether it is possible for those details to be changed. However, this issue has a significant impact on the daily lives of transgender people. Having the correct name and sex or gender identity on official documents is a basic necessity. It is required for transgender people to be recognised as a person before the law.199 Transgender people are vulnerable to human rights violations when their name and sex details on official documents, including identification documents, do not match their gender identity or expression. Violations may occur in these circumstances for a number of reasons, including: • discrimination and violence when documents disclose that someone is transgender • denial of services, with transgender people being turned away from both ‘women-only or ‘men only’ facilities • no access to services appropriate to their gender identity; for example, transgender women being detained in male prisons. In practical terms, inappropriate identity documents can result in transgender people facing high levels of violence, being excluded from school and being unable to find work, a place to live or any economic means of survival. Identity documents take on an even greater level of significance in times of emergency, such as medical emergencies or natural disasters, or when a person’s legal status is questioned, particularly when they cross borders. At times of natural disasters, transgender people have been excluded from relief camps that are segregated by sex or have not received rations because they could not show identification that matched their gender identity. Others have feared for their safety in sex-segregated washrooms or public baths. These were the experiences of transgender people following floods in Pakistan, the tsunami in India and earthquakes in Japan and Nepal.200 197 New Zealand Human Rights Commission, To Be Who I Am: Report of the Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People, 2008; New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Submission to the Human Rights Committee’s 6th periodic review of New Zealand’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, February 2016; Australian Human Rights Commission, Resilient Individuals: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Rights, 2015. 198 Speech by Dr York Y.N. Chow, Chairperson, Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission, August 2015. 199 Article 6 of the UDHR and article 16 of the ICCPR. 200 UNDP, Discussion paper: Transgender Health and Human Rights, 2013; Heath Policy project et al 2015. Chapter 3: Being transgender in Asia and the Pacific | 55