Across Asia and the Pacific, transgender people face significant stigma and discrimination, as highlighted by this recent video from the Asia-Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) and UNAIDS, produced in celebration of Zero Discrimination Day on 1 March 2014.
Video:
In it, 21 transgender men and women from across Asia and the Pacific speak about the stigma and discrimination they face, including in education and healthcare settings, and their hopes for transgender rights in the future. In the video, UNESCO’s National Programme Officer for Thailand, Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, also shares her concerns and her motivation for supporting work in this area.
Prempreeda explains, “This video clearly articulates how transgender rights are human rights, and what we all need to do to respect these rights. For UNESCO this means ensuring transgender people's right to education, including comprehensive sexuality education”
In the video, some speakers share their experience in schools, and the lack of support they received from teachers and students, and the toxic impact this had on them. “When I was young going to school was a nightmare. I had to wear a male uniform. I was bullied, I was hit and I couldn’t tell anyone – the teachers, the parents – because was afraid to be judged, or punished by them, “ shares Natt Kraipet, APTN Coordinator. “I told my teacher, ‘These guys tried to take off my clothes’, and the teacher said, ‘You are behaving badly. You are behaving in a feminized way, so it’s not their fault, it’s your fault,” continues Abhina Aher, Programme Manager for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance India's Pehchan Programme.
These stories reinforce the urgent need UNESCO has seen in Thailand and other settings to ensure safe and secure learning environments for all learners, including transgender youth. The right to education has been recognized since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and is enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNESCO’s Convention against Discrimination in Education. The right to education without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is also set out in the Yogyakarta Principles.
On Zero Discrimination Day, UNESCO calls on all countries to respect all learners’ right to education.