Case study: Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People 2006–08 NEW ZEALAND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Background and context of the inquiry The 2008 report, To be Who I Am. Kia noho au ki tōku anō ao, documented a significant national inquiry into discrimination experienced by transgender people in Aotearoa New Zealand.30 The focus was on three areas: experiences of discrimination, access to health services and barriers to legal recognition of gender status. Historically, societies in all part of the world have included people who, today, would be described as transgender. In Aotearoa New Zealand, there is evidence that traditional Māori communities were inclusive of whakawāhine and takatāpui, while other Pacific countries recognised gender diversity, including fa’afafine in Samoa and Tokelau, fakaleiti or leiti in Tonga, fakafifine in Niue and akava’ine in the Cook Islands. In 2004, the Commission’s New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights identified many human rights issues faced by transgender people and prioritised an inquiry into the discrimination that transgender people faced.31 That Inquiry was approved by Commissioners in 2005 and was undertaken over 2006 and 2007, with a report published in January 2008. The Commission then committed three years’ attention to supporting duty bearers to work with rights holders on implementing the Inquiry’s findings. The Inquiry found that in Aotearoa New Zealand: • Transgender children and young people faced major barriers at school, at work, playing sport, accessing health services and actively participating in their community. • Transgender people faced discrimination that undermined their ability to have a secure family life, to find accommodation, to obtain a job or be treated fairly at work, to access general health care or to participate in community life. They faced daily challenges to find acceptance and, at worst, experienced constant harassment and vicious assault. • There had been no consultation with transgender people in critical policy areas that affected them. • There were significant gaps and inconsistencies in the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of gender-affirming health services required by many transgender people. The services available were ad hoc and provided by a few dedicated health professionals. Most transgender people could not access gender-affirming services. 30 To Be Who I am. Kia noho au tōku anō ao, Report of the Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender people, 2008; available at: www.hrc.co.nz/files/5714/2378/7661/15-Jan-2008_14-56-48_HRC_Transgender_FINAL.pdf. 31 See: www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/NHRA/New_Zealand.pdf. Case studies | 93