EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Study on Discrimination Against Transgender Persons Based in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor (Right to Education, Employment, Healthcare, Housing and Dignity) CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In Malaysia, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is often regarded as a taboo. In Malaysia, strict conformity to the binary classification of gender, i.e male or female, resulted in discrimination against LGBT community that led to many violations of their human rights. This traditional classification is deeply rooted in laws, policies, culture and spiritual beliefs. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (the Commission) is responsible to promote and protect human rights for all sectors of society in Malaysia as per the functions and powers enshrined under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999. Specifically stated under Section 4(1) and (2) of the Act, the Commission is tasked to promote awareness of human rights and to undertake research by conducting programmes, seminars and workshops and to disseminate and distribute the results of such research. Referring to this provision, the Commission had taken up several initial works on the LGBT community since 2010 which served as a starting point for this study. Upon considering all views and the sensitivities of discussing issues pertaining to LGBT openly, the Commission choose to adopt a step-by-step approach to engage with stakeholders in a closed-door discussions. In 2015, the Commission met with Justice for Sister in which the latter suggested that the Commission conducted a public inquiry into the violation of human rights of the LGBT community. However, after taking into consideration its limited resources, the Commission decided to embark on a study to identify the types of discrimination faced specifically by transgender persons based in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and understand how their basic rights have been violated. The Commission decided to focus on transgender persons due to the visibility of their gender expression, exposing them to a greater number of discriminatory practices. The main objective of the study is to assist the Commission in identifying strategic actions to ensure respect of human rights of the transgender community. The specific objectives of the study could be summarised as below: i. 2 To monitor and compile data/information on incidences of discrimination against transgender persons on the rights to employment, health care, education, housing and dignity. | Report On Transgender Persons In KL And Selangor