Some Events of the year 2010: Part 1 - Organizations, legislation, litigation, political parties.

This is just some of what happened in 2010.

Part 1: Organizations, legislation, litigation, political parties.

Part 2: Persons

Part 3: Internet, Sports, Medicine, Celebrities, Deaths

Part 4: Visual media

Part 5: News Media, Journals

Part 6: Books

Organizations

Europe:

ILGA-Europe published Transgender People and the Gender Recast Directive (direct link to PDF download) which is intended to provide “an introduction to the content of the Gender Recast Directive and an overview of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), and their relevance for trans people living in the European Union”.

International Congress on Gender Identity and Human Rights. Barcelona 4-6 June.

Trans Community Conference, London 16 July.

Two Turkish delegates to the 3^rd European Transgender Council in Malmo were attacked in a local restaurant.

UK: National Trans Police Association (NTPA) trans and intersex police officers officially launched and recognised by the police service in March.

The Law Society of Scotland released figures indicating that 4% (432) of their 10,848 members are "currently living and working in the opposite gender assigned to them at birth".

Project Silverfish – new group in London.

STP2012: Best Practices Guide to Trans Health Care in the National Health System.

Aktion Transsexualitat und Menschenrecht. Transsexual People in Germany

Institute for the Equality of Women and Men. Being transgender in Belgium.

Institute for Conflict Research. "The Luck of the Draw". A Report on the Experience of Trans Individuals Reporting Hate Incidents in Northern Ireland.

Stonewall was heavily criticized for its non-support of equal marriage, and not working on trans issues. And for proposing to honour Sun journalist Bill Leckie.

Americas:

The TransPulse study of Trans People in Ontario. http://transpulse.ca/documents/E1English.pdf

US: National Transgender Discrimination Survey. www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/resources_and_tools/ntds_report_on_health.pdf.

San Francisco: the Trangender Economic Empowerment Initiative, which arranges jobs for trans people, lost its city funding.

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition sponsored An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes.

Transgender camp for kids.

Shelters for gay and trans homeless

Transgender Michigan opens an office.

The Gender Identity Center of Colorado has a new home.

California's Transgender Law Center celebrated 8 years.

Silueta X, Ecuador, applied to the Ombudsman citing the 2008 constitution after the local registry office refused their change of name. They had new identity cards within a week.

Gender Identity Empowerment Coalition lead by Arianna Davis and Kateryna Guinevere du Lac appeared, claiming to have given emergency financial assistance to various trans people. Suspicions were aroused, and the group disappeared by mid December. More

Accord Alliance no longer lists Bo Laurent (once known as Cheryl Chase) as an advisor.

PFOX, the ex-gay organization embraces Bailey and Lawrence.

Asia:

Koogavan Festival, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu.

First trans beauty pageant in India.

Sangama put forward Christy Raj to Video Volunteers to be a community correspondent. It also launched a campaign to add dignity to lives.

Shemale Rights Foundation of Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, founded.

Sisters in Solidarity founded by Leana Lo and two others to oppose the anti-trans discrimination in clubs especially in the Clarke Quay area of Singapore.

Indonesia: the conference held by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) in Surabaya in March was cancelled by the police after complaints and then threats by Muslims.

Indonesia: the National Commission for Human Rights held a human rights training session at the Bumi Wijaya Hotel in Depok. This was invaded by the the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) complaining that the Commission recognized the transsexual community. Afterwards, Satpol disputed that they had a permit.

Indonesia: Asian research network for women/gender studies, Kartini Asia, and the Amsterdam-based SEPHIS (The South-South exchange programme for research on the history of development) put on a 3-day workshop in Yogyakarta on the theme "Bridging the gap between sexuality research and advocacy for sexual rights".

Putroe Sejati Aceh (True Sons of Aceh), which provides shelters for trans women, put on a beauty contest with permission from Aceh's Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU). It was later condemned.

Equal marriage & civil unions

Albania: dropped promise of equal marriage rights after pressure from Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox leaders.

Argentina legalized equal marriage.

China: first gay marriage.

France: heterosexual couples can choose between a civil partnership and marriage, and now there are two civil partnerships for every three marriages.

Iceland unanimously introduced equal marriage. Prime Minister married under new law.

Ireland will have Civil Partnerships next year.

Lebanon: protest march in favour of secular marriages.

Mexico City: first gay marriages

Nepal to introduce equal marriages.

Portugal introduces equal marriages.

UK civil partners living in France now recognized by French tax authorities.

US:

DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was found unconstitutional by a District Court Judge in Massachusetts. This decision is being appealed by the Obama administration.

California: Proposition 8 found unconstitutional by a Federal Judge. California government declined to appeal, but third party did so.

Connecticut: all civil unions converted to marriages.

Iowa: 3 Supreme Court Judges voted out in 2010 elections after permitting equal marriages.

New Hampshire. In January 2011, all civil unions will become marriages.

Washington, DC. First gay marriages.

Other Legislation, Litigation, other government actions, etc

The UN voted in November a new proscription on extra-judicial and summary executions. The previous version specifically mentioned sexual orientation. The new version, resulting from an amendment introduced by Benin, does not. However in December, as a US initiative, the change was reversed.

The separate UN statement condemning human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, especially with regard to the application of the death penalty and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has been signed by 68 countries. The US which refused to sign under Bush, did do so under Obama. 124 countries are declining to sign it.

IOC organized a two-day conference in Miami in January to consider guidelines for sex verification cases. IAAF and FIFA sent representatives. It proposed health centres to diagnose and treat athletes with 'disorders of sex development', and to do expeditiously. The athlete could face suspension if they do not cooperate. Dr Maria New (see below) was on the panel.

US and many other airports: the full scan machines that can see your genitals under your clothes complicated travelling for non-ops and pre-ops.

Quite a few close to surgery had their plans disrupted by the political demonstrations in Bangkok.

EU:

Draft resolution on “Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Italy: opened trans-only prison.

Ireland: dropped its appeal against changing birth certificates.

Macedonia: passed an anti-discrimination law with no mention of GLBT persons. This of course is deficient re the EU 2010 draft resolution. Amnesty urged that it be instantly returned to Parliament for amendment.

Malta: February, Joanne Cassar in February won a civil case to order the Marriage Registrar to issue her wedding banns; in May the decision was revoked on appeal; in November the First Hall of the Civil Court ruled that this was a breach of human rights; in December the Attorney General filed an appeal.

Netherlands: law barring universities from issuing replacement diplomas not to apply to transsexuals.

Norway: fetishism, fetishistic transvestism, sadomasochism, multiple disorders of sexual preference, and transvestism removed from official list of medical diagnoses.

Scotland: Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act. It will mean that homo/biphobic, transphobic and disability-prejudice crime is properly recognised as hate crime. Scotland is thus the first country in Europe to include transphobic crime in its hate laws.

Sweden: the Socialstyrelsen (Health and Welfare Board) in line with the EU recommendations has called for the end to the requirement that an applicant for a change of sex must be single and sterilized.

UK: Equality Act has nine categories of ‘protected characteristic”: age, disability, "gender reassignment", marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, and sexual orientation.

UK: In AC v. Berkshire West Primary Care Trust, the High Court ruled that the NHS rules rationally in refusing to provide breast enlargement surgery to a transsexual. AC had been diagnosed with GID, had been on hormones and had refused genital surgery

Australia:

Trans persons now allowed in military


New South Wales: in late February, Scottish-born Norrie mAy-welby was granted a Recognised Details Certificate giving aer gender as “not specified”. In mid-March, after it was news around the world, the Certificate was revoked.

New South Wales: Family Court permitted 15-year-old trans girl to have hormone therapy. This was published in 2010, and now becomes a precedent.

Western Australia: Court to Appeal rules that trans men cannot get a gender reassignment certificate without having an hysterectomy.

Argentina: Gender Identity Law has been stuck in the Senate since 2007

Canada:

The government ordered Correctional Services Canada to halt all sex change surgery for inmates.

A Toronto judge struck down Canada's prostitution laws as unconstitutional. However the ruling remains suspended.

Canadian forces issued rules for trans service persons.

Quebec health system, RAMQ agrees to pay for services at Brassard's clinic.

Alberta finally removes homosexuality from its list of diagnostic codes. Transsexualism and transvestism remain.

British Columbia: medical service plan to cover chest surgery for trans men.

Cuba: confirmed that its health service is paying for sex changes.

Guyana: four men, who were fined for wearing female attire, have filed a motion in the High Court that the law contravenes their fundamental rights.

Honduras: a police officer was convicted and sentenced to 10-13 years for an off-duty stabbing attack on a trans sex worker who had declined to give him sex. The sex worker and witnesses were subject to death threats and kidnappings during the trial. This is the first such conviction in Honduras.

Hong Kong: High Court ruled that there is insufficient evidence “to demonstrate a shifted societal consensus in present-day Hong Kong regarding marriage to encompass a post-operative transsexual”. The petitioner would be allowed to marry her boyfriend anywhere else in China.

India: 

National Identification Authority will permit transgender as a third gender option.

Tamil Nadu: The government program of free gender surgery is up and working. 87 operations have been performed, and there is a waiting list of 500.

Hyderabad: the state government brought the 1.2 lakh transgender community under the Minorities Welfare Department, but the Muslims (another minority) objected and the order was reversed.

Indonesia: the Ulema Council has barred Muslims from watching television gossip shows or changing sex.

Kenya: robbery convict, Richard Muasya, intersex and as such denied official documentation, sought recognition of a third gender, as he has been harassed and badly treated in prison because of his intersex status. Ae was awarded Sh500,000, but his request for a third gender status was rejected.

Kuwait: launched an all-women moral police with the particular responsibility of chasing transvestites, and stopping the mixing of sexes.

Nepal: although in 2007 the Supreme Court ordered the government to amend laws to end discrimination against gays and trans, and give them the same rights as other citizens, this has not happened. In September there was a rally to protest this lack of action, and 70 were arrested.

New Zealand: the charities commission denied Exodus charity status in that: it does not provide any public benefit, and that Homosexuality is not a mental disorder and does not need changing.

Norway: Directorate of Health, following the earlier lead of Denmark (1995) and Sweden (2009), invalidated the diagnostic code for "Fetishistic Transvestism" in the standard Norwegian psychiatric manual.

Thailand: A new amendment to the conscription law being vetted by the Council of State means transsexuals would be relieved from draft service due to "gender identity disorder". Previously the document used the expression "mentally ill" which caused employment problems. Trans activists would prefer "physical appearances do not match their biological sex".

Turkey: Supreme Court of Appeals recognised gender change of Turkish woman who transitioned in Germany.

US:

Illinois: anti-bullying law inclusive of GLBT students.

Massachusetts trans-intersex couple awarded $6,000 after being discriminated against in rental market.

Rhode Island: Governor Donald Carcieri vetoed bill that would have expanded the definition of hate to include gender identity and gender-related expression.

Wisconsin: state law preventings inmates receiving gender hormones struck down by judge.

Houston added trans persons to it non-discrimination policy.

Oakland, California, removed its 130-year-old ban on cross-dressing.

US: updated the Equal Opportunity Statement on the federal jobs Web site to explicitly
include gender identity.

The American Academy of Pediatrics proposed that US law should permit pediatricians to offer a ritual nick of girls' genitalia as a compromise to immigrant clients.

US Tax Court rules that a woman could deduct the costs of her sex change operation.

Limited validity passports to be available for those in transition.

Vietnam: a gang rape of a post-op trans woman in Quang Binh province initiated a legal debate about whether it is covered in Vietnamese law.

Political Parties

The Australian Socialist Alliance adopted a positive policy on Intersex people at its National Conference, January 2010.

Nov 20, the Quebec wing of the federal New Democratic Party called for the government to strip Exodus Global Alliance of its Canadian charitable status at a convention in Gatineau.

Canadian MP, Bill Siksay, of The New Democratic Party, has introduced a private member's bill repeatedly for many years to add 'gender identity and gender-expression' to the anti-hate-crime law. This year the bill has reached third reading.