treatment or punishment to transgender persons. This, therefore, amounts to a violation of Article 11 of the Constitution and other prevailing laws. (b) Police officers, when checking the physical body of transgender persons, they have to understand their gender identity and act accordingly. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect, they must first check the identity card or any other valid document before checking the person's body. Maintaining and respecting that person’s privacy is essential as treating him with due dignity. The police are required to formulate guidelines informing the manner of body searches of these individuals. A transgender person is just another person, and he is entitled to all rights every person is entitled to under the Constitution. Guideline 04: Right to Security of the Person (a) Transgender persons face stigma, discrimination and violence in public places, such as non-verbal gestures, verbal abuses, threats and physical attacks. In these circumstances, the police should proactively intervene, avoid the situation, and take appropriate legal action against individuals who violate those rights. (b) Inaction, avoidance or delaying legal actions by police officers for such grievances would violate Article 12.1 of the Constitutions. When transgender persons cross-dress, police tend to criminalise such actions under section 399 of the Penal Code – “Cheating by Impersonation”. Also, the police usually erroneously judge these cross-dressed individuals as Sex-workers. Cross-dressing cannot be considered impersonation concerning transgender persons, and they should not be prejudiced as sex workers. The misapplication of criminal law has severe consequences, the police must be advised of these consequences, and severe action must be taken against such police officers for not adhering to the prescribed regulations. Guideline 05: The Right to Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Detention Transgender persons are often arrested under the Vagrants’ Ordinance merely because they stand on the road. The definition of vagrant must be clearly defined to avoid such arrests wrongfully. If the police do not follow this legal provision, it would be considered an illegal arrest and will, therefore, violate Article 13 of the 1978 Constitution. Guideline 06: The Right to Privacy (a) Personal information of transgender persons must be treated with confidentiality. Disclosure of transgender status and sensitive information should be on a need-toHuman Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Page 3