Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions Emerging research in this region and internationally suggests that people who are born female and grow up to identify as gender non-confirming or trans masculine face high levels of violence and abuse within the family. This abuse is directed at both masculine lesbians and transgender boys and young men and includes corrective rape and forced marriage.163 It remains invisible and unreported when States do not legislate against family and domestic violence and leave families to enforce social norms, standards of respectability and morality. There are, however, examples of courts providing legal redress for transgender people escaping violence. An October 2015 Delhi High Court decision upheld the rights of a 19 year old Indian transgender man to self-determination and dignity. Shivy Bhat had been abused by his family in California and then on a visit to India was detained by other family members who confiscated his passport and United States green card.164 A 2014 study on violence against transgender people, lesbians, and bisexual women in Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka included four specific recommendations for NHRIs. These called on NHRIs to: • investigate and document this violence • ensure that complaints mechanisms and reporting procedures are safe and do not result in recriminations, including criminalisation • report violence to UN entities • recommend preventive and reparative action to redress it.165 3.3. DISCRIMINATION 3.3.1. Direct discrimination Transphobia is the dislike of or prejudice against someone who is, or is assumed to be, transgender.166 Transphobia fuels discrimination and stigma against transgender people, based on their actual or perceived gender identity or expression. 167 There is a lot of discrimination against transgender people in Timor-Leste. Every day we face discrimination from people because of the clothes that we wear and the way people perceive our behaviour. Richella, transgender member of Casa da Rosa167 Direct discrimination against transgender people is very high and often unquestioned. In many communities, it is commonplace for transgender people to be ridiculed. This is reinforced by their portrayal in the media, derogatory terms used to describe transgender people and inappropriate references made to intimate parts of their bodies. Many of these terms and references dehumanise transgender people and are an invasion of their privacy. 48 163 Common Language Summary Report: Domestic Violence against Lesbian and Bisexual Women in China, 2009; International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now Outright Action International), 2014; M. Pitts, A. Smith, A. Mitchell and S. Patel, Private lives: a report on the health and wellbeing of gay lesbian bisexual transgender and intersex Australians, Monograph Series No. 57, 2006: The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University. 164 Bhat vs. NCT of Delhi and ors; at http://orinam.net/transman-rights-bhat-vs-delhi-2015/. ‘Trans man’ is the term used in this case summary. 165 International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International), 2014. 166 See Chapter 1. 167 Notes from discussion with Feliciano da Costa Araujo, Interim Programme Manager CODIVA NGO.