Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific Stereotypes against transgender people typically describe transgender people as ‘less than’ male or female and segregate them to the margins of society. By doing so, stereotypes can be self-perpetuating as people struggle to imagine a better future than the narrow options made available to them. A person’s gender identity affects all aspects of their life. On any given day, people are referred to repeatedly using a name, title or other term that identifies them as either male or female. If people go to use public toilets or baths, to pray, to cut their hair or to try on clothes in a shop, they are routinely required to choose between female or male facilities. In many parts of the region, security checkpoints in shops, public buildings and airports are frequently sex-segregated. For transgender people, especially those who are very visible, each of those interactions is potentially a place where their gender identity will be questioned and they may face discrimination. Transgender people fear discrimination if their past identity is disclosed. They are caught between two hard situations. On the one hand, they can disclose their past and not have their self-defined identity acknowledged and respected. On the other, they can choose to be ‘stealth’ and be accused of deceit if details of their past are revealed. Many transgender people do not have a choice, as they are unable to amend their name or sex details on documents, or they may not be free to change their appearance so that they are recognised in their appropriate gender identity. NHRIs can make it clear that transgender people have the right to freedom from discrimination whether or not they disclose their past, are stealth or live openly as a transgender, third gender or gender non-conforming person. Transgender people are routinely rejected by their families and excluded from participating in their cultural or religious communities. Discrimination impacts severely on their rights to education, work, adequate housing and access to health and other social services. Many live in poverty on the margins of society. As a result, transgender women are much more likely than the general adult population to be living with HIV. In this region, the term social exclusion has been used to describe the cumulative impact of this marginalisation.168 School is not safe for many transgender young people. Initial attention to homophobic school bullying has helped draw attention to the specific nature of transphobic bullying directed at transgender or gender non-conforming students.169 This includes concerns about the often undocumented vulnerability of both gender non-conforming female students and transgender boys.170 In May 2012, the Philippines Department of Education issued an order to protect children from any violence, abuse or exploitation at school because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. A recent international study found that 35 of 100 transgender people surveyed in the Philippines had been sexually harassed or attacked in school. Of the approximately 200 transgender people surveyed both in West Bengal, India, and in Thailand, 48 per cent and 29 per cent respectively had experienced sexual violence from other students. Even in Tonga, where there is a wider community acceptance, 28 per cent of the 102 leiti surveyed had experienced violence and 13 per cent reported sexual violence.171 168 UNDP, Hijras / Transgender Women in India: HIV, Human Rights and Social Exclusion, 2010. 169 UNESCO, From Insult to Inclusion: Asia-Pacific report on school bullying, violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, 2015; at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235414E.pdf. 170 UNESCO, Asia-Pacific Consultation on School Bullying based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression: Meeting Report, 15-17 June 2015, Bangkok, Thailand. 171 C. Balzer, C. LaGata and J.S. Hutta (eds) Transrespect versus Transphobia: The social experiences of trans and gender-diverse people in Colombia, India, the Philippines, Serbia, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey and Venezuela, TvT Publication Series Vol. 9, 2015. Chapter 3: Being transgender in Asia and the Pacific | 49