TRANSGENDER: HEALTH AND RIGHTS

Dr. Rajni Sharma and Dr. Purnendu Mishra*

ABSTRACT

India has approximately 700,000 transgender persons. Sexuality is an issue that has created social divides. Sexual minorities have been oppressed in our society on the ground of them being deviant. Their existence has been listed as unnatural. Therefore, the issues related to the rights of genders, their health problems and also do not find place in the top agendas of the governments and human rights movements. Trans people worldwide experience substantial health disparities and barriers to appropriate health care services that keep them from achieving the highest possible health status. Among other disparities, Trans people are significantly more likely than the general population to be targeted for violence and harassment, to contract HIV, and to be at risk for mental health concerns such as depression and attempted suicide. Barriers to health care experienced by trans communities include discriminatory treatment by health care providers, a lack of providers who are trained to offer appropriate health care to trans people, and refusal by many national health systems and health insurance programs to cover services for trans people. This article is centered on transgender health and their rights in India and also their present situation in India.

Keywords: Transgender, health problems, human rights.