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GENDER BIAS TOWARD THE TRANSGENDERS IN HINDU COMMUNITY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY BY: ANNANYA SINGHAL
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Article Details
GENDER BIAS TOWARD THE TRANSGENDERS
IN HINDU COMMUNITY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
AUTHORED BY:
ANNANYA SINGHAL
Student: 6th
Semester B.A.LL. B
Christ
Academy Institute of Law, Bengaluru, India
Phone No.
7351160001
E-Mail:
annanya.singhal@calaw.in
ABSTRACT
Gender bias is the practice of giving
preference to a particular individual or a particular group. The gender bias
among the Transgender community is very much prevalent in India. The
discrimination that the Transgender community faces is one of the great threats
to the principles of equality and good conscience. The community of transgender
often faces discrimination based on their gender. This research paper tries to
analyze the discrimination that the transgender community faces through the
survey conducted and the effects of it on the development of their community
and also on the overall development of the country. The research paper also
provides statistics about the discrimination that leads the transgender
community to violence as well as indulging in unwanted activities.
Keywords: Transgender, Gender Bias, Gender
Discrimination
INTRODUCTION
Gender Discrimination is one of the
main problems that is faced by everyone all around the world. Gender identity
refers to each person's deeply felt internal and individual experience of
gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth
including the personal sense of the body and other expressions of gender,
including dress, speech, and mannerisms. The term
"gender-diverse" is used to refer to persons whose gender identity,
including their gender expression, is at odds with what is perceived as being
the gender norm in a particular context at a particular point in time,
including those who do not place themselves in the male/female binary; the more
specific term "trans" is used to describe persons who identify with a
different sex than the one assigned to them at birth.
Trans persons are particularly
vulnerable to human rights violations when their name and sex details in
official documents do not match their gender identity or expression. Today,
however, the vast majority of trans and gender-diverse persons in the world do
not have access to gender recognition by the State. That scenario creates a
legal vacuum and a climate that tacitly fosters stigma and prejudice against
them.
At the root of the acts of violence
and discrimination lies the intent to punish based on preconceived notions of
what the victim's gender identity should be, with a binary understanding of
what constitutes a male and a female, or the masculine and the feminine. These
acts are invariably the manifestation of deeply entrenched stigma and
prejudice, irrational hatred, and a form of gender-based violence, driven by an
intention to punish those seen as defying gender norms.[1]
STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
The equality is one of the basic
principles that is granted under the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, but
it has been certainly observed that the transgender community is deprived of
their right to equality which affects them in a negative manner. The survey
tries to find out the literacy and employment rate of the transgender community
in India. The transgender community is mostly seen begging on the roads and
this research paper tries to find the thinking of the society towards the
transgender community as whether they support the equality towards the
transgenders or not. It also tries to find out the reason for gender bias in
society toward the transgender community.
RELEVANCE
OF THE STUDY
The rights of trans people are
protected by a range of international and regional mechanisms. Yet, punitive
national laws, policies, and practices targeting transgender people, including
complex procedures for changing identification documents, strip transgender
people of their rights and limit access to justice. This results in gross
violations of human rights on the part of state perpetrators and society at
large. Transgender people's experience globally is that of extreme social
exclusion that translates into increased vulnerability to HIV, and other
diseases, including mental health conditions, limited access to education and
employment, and loss of opportunities for economic and social advancement. In
addition, hatred, and aggression towards a group of individuals who do not
conform to social norms around gender manifest in frequent episodes of extreme
violence towards transgender people. This violence often goes unpunished.
Despite the dramatic progress of the
transgender movement in the last decade, resulting in greater public awareness
and significant legal victories, trans people continue to face blatant
discrimination, high levels of violence, and poor health outcomes. Trans people
of color often face markedly worse health and economic outcomes as they
navigate multiple systems of oppression. We’ve highlighted some key issues
below:
·
Health – Transgender
people face enormous health disparities, including staggering rates of HIV
infection, lack of primary care (including individualized, medically necessary
transition-related healthcare), and high rates of attempted suicide.
·
Economics – Transgender people bear the economic consequences of discrimination,
including high rates of poverty and unemployment, discrimination in education,
and homelessness. Trans people are more than twice as likely to live in extreme
poverty (earning under $10,000 a year), with Latinx transgender people facing
three-and-a-half times, and Black transgender people facing three times, the
poverty rate of the general U.S. population.
·
Safety –
Transgender people, and Black transgender women especially, experience
frightening levels of physical violence. This is particularly true among
transgender people participating in sex work and other informal or criminalized
economies. Brutal murders of transgender women occur with such alarming regularity,
often with little response from law enforcement, that the American
Medical Association declared violence against transgender people an epidemic in
2019.
·
Civil Rights – Recognition and respect for the civil rights of trans people are
critically important because their legal needs span many aspects of life. These
needs include identity documents that accurately reflect who they are,
protections from employment discrimination, and immigration rights, to name
only a few.[2]
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are to
understand:
1. The
importance of the transgender community in the development of a country.
2. The discrimination
that the transgender community faces
3. The
challenges that they face in the ways of discrimination and violence against
them letting them indulge in unwanted activities.
HYPOTHESIS
The Transgender Community is facing a
lot of discrimination on the basis of their gender which is leading them to
unemployment and violence against them.
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
The research methodology used in this
research is Empirical. The data is collected through an online survey done by
google form.
SURVEY STATISTICS:
The survey sample includes 83
individuals of all age groups consisting of 57.1% Females and 42.9% Males.
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
A. What are
the reasons for the discrimination towards the Transgender Community?
B. What are
the jobs the Transgender community performs being less or rarely employed?
C. What could
be the solutions for the upliftment of the transgender community?
The existence of the third gender had
always been in question based on their gender. They form a large part of
society but the knowledge about them among the people is one of the important
questions that this research paper tries to answer.
The ways exclusion affects
transgender lives are interconnected. Stigma and
transphobia lead to isolation, poverty, violence, lack of social and
economic support systems, and poor health. Transgender people
who express their gender identity from an early age are often rejected by their
families. Unless they are evicted from their homes, they are shunned
in their homes, deprived of educational opportunities, and unable to attend to
their mental and physical health needs. People who express their
gender identity later in
life are often rejected by mainstream society and
social institutions when attempting to reverse gender socialization.
Hostile environments that fail to understand trans people's needs threaten
their safety and are ill-equipped to offer sensitive health and social
services.
Such discriminatory and exclusionary
environments fuel social vulnerability over a lifetime; trans people have few
opportunities to pursue education, and greater odds of being unemployed,
thereby experiencing inordinately high levels of homelessness and poverty.
Trans students experience resentment, prejudice, and threatening environments
in schools, which leads to significant drop-out rates, with few trans people
advancing to higher education.
Workplace-related research on
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) individuals reveals that trans workers
are the most marginalized and are excluded from gainful employment, with
discrimination occurring at all phases of the employment process, including
recruitment, training opportunities, employee benefits, and access to job
advancement.
Transphobia
surrounding the lives of transgender people fosters violence
against them. Documents from the last decade show
a disproportionate rate of trans people being
killed and the extreme forms of torture and inhumane treatment
they are subjected to. Governments turn a blind eye
when such atrocities are committed against trans people. Trans
sex workers are particularly vulnerable to
police brutality, including rape, and may also be sexually
exploited by those who are perceived as guardians of the law.
Opportunities to lodge grievances are limited in these
situations, and transgender complainants are often ignored when legally
available channels are available.
Transgenders have been discriminated against
always all places and that is the reason why the involvement of the transgender
community is very less in almost every context. The literacy rate is very low
due to the very low percentage of transgender’s attending school. This
automatically causes them to do odd jobs like entering the work of a prostitute
or ending up begging on the roads.[3]
According to the survey conducted,
questions were asked related to the presence of the Transgender community in
society in the following fields:
1.
In school
School is one of the most important
areas where the development of the young youth starts up. Individuals who
identify as transgender at an early age may face problems if their
identity conflicts with traditional school protocol
judgments, whether public or private. Discrimination can
arise from classmates who make fun of or physically harm transgender
people because of their transphobia. Because of incidents like this,
Transgenders Remembrance Day was created to honour and remember gender-nonconforming
people killed by prejudice.
The percentage of the transgender
community that attends the school is really shocking. According to the survey
conducted 69.9% of the people have not seen any transgender students in their
school. 13.3% of the surveyed people are not sure about their presence while
only 16.9% people say the presence of any transgender community in their
schools.
With such data it makes it clear that
the area's literacy rate is very low among the transgender community which
affects the overall development of the community affecting the overall literacy
rate of the country. Such a percentage needs to be considered and by such
statistics, it becomes clear that the transgender community is facing gender-
bias in the community.
2.
In work
The economic security of a person
depends on their skills and educational qualifications. It was seen prior that
the literacy rate of the community is very low which makes them excluded from
approaching the employment opportunities. The survey conducted shows that only
13.3% of the surveyed people believed that they have seen transgenders mostly
employees in their respective areas. 34.9% of the people believe that they have
seen the transgender community working moderately while 51.8% of the surveyed
people have not seen any transgender community working or even employed.
The prior data has shown up that the
transgender communities' employment activities. The works that the Transgender
community is mostly found working on are found working in the following areas:
·
Prostitute
According to the surveyed people, 6%
of them have seen the transgender community working as a prostitute. The low
percentage seems to show that the involvement is a positive sign but in
reality, prostitution is a work that where common man is not generally aware.
So, it cannot be included as an exact percentage. The transgender community
somehow has been seen in the prostitute work and its presence is
unquestionable.
In general, sex workers appear to be
at increased risk for
serious work-related health problems, including physical
and sexual assault, robbery, homicide, physical and mental health
problems, and drug and alcohol addiction. Although all sex workers are at
risk of the problems listed, some studies suggest that sex
workers working on the streets are at higher
risk of experiencing these problems. Transgender Sex Workers
face high levels of discrimination both within and
outside the sex industry and face HIV prevalence and
violence as a result of their work. Moreover, in the absence of control
and individual autonomy, a clear distinction must be made
between consensual sex work and sex trafficking.
·
Begging
According
to the community, due to the lack of a sustainable income, they may be turning
towards begging, but ensure that they do not indulge in criminal practices.
Transgender beggars are a common sight at busy traffic signals at major city
junctions. However, post lockdown, the number has suddenly gone up manifolds.
Their annoying modus of coercing citizens to pay them money has not gone down
well with several residents. The survey conducted shows that 72.3% of the
transgender community are found begging on the roads. The scenario of COVID-19
has also aggravated the situation of the transgender community where the
percentage has increased to a greater extent.
·
Government
Sector
7.2% of the
transgender community had been found working according to the transgender
community. The government job is found to be a well-settled job but the
percentage of the contribution of the transgender community is very low. The
decrease in the transgender community's employment can be seen as
discrimination based on their gender.
·
Business
14.5% of
the transgender community is found to be involved in business activities. The
business activities are a great platform for them to increase their economic
strata as per the whole community. The business can be of various forms, and it
promotes them to increase the participation of them towards the whole society
and also for the overall development of the country.
REASONS FOR THE DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS THE TRANSGENDER
COMMUNITY
·
POVERTY
Poverty
works both as a cause and an effect of sex work. Sex workers are a vulnerable
population due to obstacles like poverty, poor health, and legal and social
barriers. A study that collected information on sex work from transgender women
of colour reported that for some transgender women sex work is a necessary
means of survival.
Despite engaging in higher-risk activity, transgender sex workers are more likely to receive lower pay than other sex workers. Transgender sex workers with a history of homelessness, unemployment, incarceration, mental health issues, violence, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, or drug use are further at risk of being trapped in a cycle of poverty. Lack of economic opportunities outside of the sex work industry and discrimination may lead to transgender people entering sex work in order to generate income for rent, drugs, medicines, hormones, or gender-related surgeries. It is seen that sex work has become a necessary way for the survival of the transgender community which provides them with food, shelter, and basic amenities.
Despite engaging in higher-risk activity, transgender sex workers are more likely to receive lower pay than other sex workers. Transgender sex workers with a history of homelessness, unemployment, incarceration, mental health issues, violence, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, or drug use are further at risk of being trapped in a cycle of poverty. Lack of economic opportunities outside of the sex work industry and discrimination may lead to transgender people entering sex work in order to generate income for rent, drugs, medicines, hormones, or gender-related surgeries. It is seen that sex work has become a necessary way for the survival of the transgender community which provides them with food, shelter, and basic amenities.
·
Health
Conditions
Demographically, sex workers
which majority constitute transgenders are at
increased risk of various health conditions, including HIV and
other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Centre for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reports a significant lack of
information on HIV-positive transgender people because data on
transgender people are not consistently collected. doing. However, the a lack of
information about transgender people. Her HIV data for
transgender female sex workers is urgently needed around
the world, especially in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central
Asia. This global gap in available information
is the result of structural barriers created by legal structures in
various countries and the ongoing criminalization of sex work.
·
Discrimination
All the statistics show that the
transgender community played a very low role in society because of the
discrimination faced by them in terms of gender which made them face
discrimination. The discrimination towards them had also led them to face
violence against them. If such discrimination is not stopped then the
transgender community could be seen on the verge of extinction or will be seen
in a lot of unwanted practices.
Unlawful discrimination
against employees based on gender reassignment includes adverse
treatment. Refusal of an employee's offer of employment, unfavourable
terms, reduced promotion,or training opportunities.
When
a person engages in unwanted transsexual behavior
that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of another
person or of creating an intimidating, hostile,
degrading, degrading or offensive environment, a person
harassing people.
It also applies to situations in which a person is treated less favourably because of their refusal or submission to the action. You may be subject to gender reassignment harassment if:
It also applies to situations in which a person is treated less favourably because of their refusal or submission to the action. You may be subject to gender reassignment harassment if:
Unwanted comments were published that
were humiliated, ignored, and excluded.
·
Violent
Practices
According to the survey conducted the
transgender community faces violent practices against them to a greater extent
on the basis of gender. According to the survey, 44.6% of the people believed
that the transgender community faces violent practices against them, 48.2% of
the people surveyed believed that they don’t face any discrimination based on
their gender and 7.2% are not sure about any violent practices against the
transgender.
LOW INVOLVEMENT OF THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY
There may be varied reasons for the
low involvement of the transgender community in society or the development of
the country. According to the survey conducted the reasons for their low
involvement were asked based on three reasons:
1. Discrimination towards their
gender
43.4% of the surveyed people believed
that the reason for their low involvement is due to their gender and this
gender had led them to discrimination towards them.
2. Behaviour of Society
34.9% of the surveyed people believed
that the behavior of the society towards the transgender community lead them to
the low involvement with the society. The transgender community believed that
the behavior that the people showed while facing or interacting with them made
them feel excluded from society.
3. Beliefs of the Communities
21.7% of the people believed that the
beliefs that the people have about the transgender community are the reason for
their low involvement. They think about the transgender community as someone
other than male and female existing in the society and that they are different
and also need to be treated differently.
SOLUTIONS
The community-based, client-centric,
and gender-affirming approaches significantly improved the demand for and
access to tailored health, HIV, psychological, social, and legal services for
transgender people. Community involvement and collectivization approaches
strengthened the self- and collective efficacy and identity of transgender
communities and are greatly needed to address the unique needs of this
marginalized group. Furthermore, structural changes in the legal and
legislative framework to decriminalize sexual practices among transgender
populations are a priority. The global 90-90-90 goals of controlling the HIV
epidemic cannot be achieved unless the HIV and health needs of transgender
populations are addressed through an inclusive, rights-based approach.
The psychology of the people needs to
be changed so that they accept the transgender community as one of the parts of
society. The filing of cases against discrimination towards the transgender
community and also providing justice will lead them to increase their
involvement in society.
The role of the National Council for
Transgender Persons comprises of:
·
Redressal
of the grievances of Transgender Persons.
·
To
advise, monitor, and evaluate the impact of policies made by the Central
Government relating to Transgender Persons.
·
To
oversee the work of various Governmental and Non-Governmental organizations
that are dealing with matters relating to Transgender Persons.[4]
The National Council for transgenders
should be promoted to a greater extent.
As per the survey conducted majority
of the people believe in the equality of genders which is a positive sign for
promoting the betterment of the transgender
community.
The gender equality laws will also be
another major factor in boosting the confidence of the transgender community.
The survey people also answered about the positivism of the gender equality
laws for the transgender community.
CONCLUSION
The discrimination based on gender
needs to be eradicated to follow up the principles of Art. 14 of the Indian
Constitution and also to uplift the principles of natural justice as well. The
involvement of the transgender community will help society as well as the
country to prosper across the globe. The literacy rate of the transgender
community should be considered and efforts to increase for the same needs to be
addressed. The research paper had tried to throw light on the gender biases
that are prevailing in society towards transgenders in various ways and the
reasons for the same. The solutions to increase the transgender community in
society are also provided that they are considered and appropriate steps by the
concerned authorities are taken up.
REFERENCES
·
Catherine Lhamon, “Discrimination on the basis of
gender identity must end” 2019
·
WHO, Transgender people and HIV; Geneva, Switzerland:
WHO; 2015.
·
Beattie TSH, Bhattacharjee P, Suresh M, Isac S, Ramesh
BM, Moses S. Personal. Interpersonal, and structural challenges to accessing
HIV testing, treatment, and care services among female sex workers, men who
have sex with men, and transgenders in Karnataka state, South India. J
Epidemiol Community Health. 2012; Page 66
·
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M.,
Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.
Washington, DC: National Centre for Transgender Equality, 2015
[1] Vivek Divan, “Transgender Social
Inclusion and equality: a pivotal path for development”
[2] James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S.,
Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The Report of the 2015 U.S.
Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Centre for Transgender Equality.
[3] Ibid
[4] National Transgender Discrimination
Survey: Full Report National Centre for Transgender Equality, 11 September 2012
Article Information
GENDER BIAS TOWARD THE TRANSGENDERS IN HINDU COMMUNITY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY BY: ANNANYA SINGHAL
Authors: ANNANYA SINGHAL
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/11/07
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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