Part I Experiences of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex in the Asia Pacific their name when they marry. These policies have a disproportionate negative impact on transgender people. Transgender people who are unable to update their name on their school or tertiary qualifications are forced to choose between having no academic qualifications and disclosing their gender identity. School policies and practices In this region, schools commonly require students to wear distinct school uniforms, including hairstyle, with different requirements for boys and girls. These policies can indirectly discriminate against transgender students when they are disciplined for wearing a uniform that matches their gender identity or expression. This punishment includes being excluded from school or denied the right to sit exams. Girls-only and boys-only toilets and changing rooms are often particularly unsafe spaces for transgender students. In response, anecdotal evidence includes examples of transgender students self-medicating to prevent themselves from needing to urinate during school hours. These policies and practices create significant barriers for transgender students, with implications for their future educational choices and employment options.173 Changes in some countries across the region have been forthcoming. In 2008, a secondary school in Thailand introduced a unisex toilet after a survey found 200 students at the school were kathoey or transgender.174 Education officials in India and Japan have made policy commitments to address some of the barriers faced by transgender learners and to support higher education through tertiary scholarships for transgender students.175 School anti-bullying guidelines in New Zealand emphasise the vulnerability and support needed by transgender students, including the importance of offering genderneutral school uniforms and unisex bathrooms.176 Conscription Thailand, Singapore and South Korea require all males to be available for military service. This policy can have a disproportionate impact on transgender women’s safety and dignity, both during the selection process and if they are selected for military service.177 While exemption processes exist in each country, concerns have been raised that they are applied in a discretionary way and may undermine transgender people’s right to privacy. This is particularly the case when chest examinations are undertaken in public, including for transgender women who have had breast surgery. Exemption categories are typically based on psychiatric diagnoses and have been criticised as stigmatising, with implications for transgender people’s future employment record. In South Korea a diagnosis of gender dysphoria on its own may not be sufficient to gain an exemption and proof of surgery may be required. Fear of military service has driven some transgender women to undergo early orchiectomies (removal of testicles) to avoid conscription. It is against human rights standards to require or coerce anyone to undergo medical procedures, including those that result in sterilisation, without their consent. In Thailand, transgender women can obtain an exemption based on having Gender Identity Disorder. The Asia Pacific Transgender Network and the Thai Transgender Alliance have developed a video and an accessible illustrated manual for transgender people and recruitment officers about military conscription, based on human rights standards.178 173 UNESCO, Asia-Pacific Consultation on School Bullying based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression: Meeting Report, 15-17 June 2015, Bangkok, Thailand. 174 P. Likhitpreechakul, ‘Thailand: The tale of the pink toilet – Transgender rights in Thailand: A report to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’, 2008; at www.outrightinternational.org/content/thailand-tale-pink-toilet-transgender-rightsthailand. 175 Health Policy Project et al, 2015. 176 Ministry of Education, Bullying Prevention and Response: A guide for schools, 2015. 177 Transgender men under the age of 40 may be called up for military service in Singapore once the gender marker on their identification card is changed to male. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they are also offered an exemption. In other countries in Asia, transgender men are commonly excluded from conscription as they are not recognised as male. 178 Available from Thai Transgender Alliance at www.thaitga.com/. Chapter 3: Being transgender in Asia and the Pacific | 51