Committee: Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee

Issue title: Recognition of a Third Gender

Submitted by: Kinga Bagyó, Deputy President of the SHCC

Edited by: Eszter D. Kovács, President of the ECOSOC

Introduction

Gender is a social construct ascribing masculine or feminine cultural norms as expectations to individuals based on their biological sex. Biological sex is determined by the type of genitalia one has, while sexual orientation is about who they are attracted to. All these three terms are independent of each other and can influence personal identity, which is one’s idea of oneself. When someone doesn’t identify as specifically male or female, they can instead identify as ‘third gender’, ‘transgender’ or ‘genderqueer’. Some countries have already introduced a non-binary gender classification in order to provide another option to self-identification to people who combine both femininity and masculinity in their gender expression or to everyone who are outside cisnormativity. Three or more genders have been recognised long ago in some societies, where ‘third gender’ is also a social category with particular duties and social norms. The state of personally identifying as, or being identified by society as, a man, a woman, or other, is usually also defined by the individual's gender identity and gender role in the particular culture in which they live, since not all cultures have strictly defined gender roles. However, in societies that has not accepted yet the existence of a third gender; transgender, intersex and queer individuals regularly face harassment, social discrimination and violence. One of the largest reasons that such people face inequality is due to prejudice and the lack of public understanding of their discomfort caused by their assigned sex. The distress a person experiences as a result of the sex and gender they were assigned at birth is called ‘gender identity disorder’. Such a mental disorder may occur on account of someone trying to conceal their real identity to accustom themselves easier into society and to avoid grievances of stigmatization and victimization. Notwithstanding, this kind of self-oppression very frequently results in depression and suicide. On average, 43% of transgender people have attempted suicide.

Definition of Key Terms

Sex and Gender

Sex is a biological concept based on biological characteristics and the anatomy of an individual’s reproductive system, whereas gender deals with personal, societal and cultural perceptions of sexuality. In some circumstances, an individual's assigned sex and gender do not align, and the person may be transgender or genderqueer.  Gender role: The way male or female individuals act. Societies commonly have norms regarding how genders should behave, expecting people to  have personality characteristics and/or act a certain way based on their biological sex.    Sexual orientation & Gender identity (SOGI): As the UN states, sexual orientation refers to a person’s physical, romantic and/or emotional  attraction towards other people. Sexual orientation is not related to gender identity. Gender identity reflects a deeply felt and experienced sense of one’s own gender. For transgender people, there is an  inconsistency between their sense of their own gender and the sex they were assigned at birth.    Gender expression: The way in which a person expresses their gender identity through clothing, behaviour, posture, mannerisms, speech patterns, activities and more.  Cisgender Someone whose internal sense of gender corresponds with the sex the person was identified as having at birth.

Intersex An intersex person is born with sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, and/or chromosome patterns that do not fit the typical definition of male or female. An intersex person may identify as male or female or as neither. Intersex status is not about sexual orientation or gender identity: intersex people experience the same range of sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI) as non- intersex people. LGBTQIA+ Short form for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, intersex, agender and others. Lesbian – a term used to refer to homosexual females Gay – a term used to refer to homosexuality, a homosexual person or a homosexual male Bisexual – when an individual is attracted to two sexes/genders Trans – an umbrella term for transgender and transsexual people, transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex, and are sometimes called transsexual if they desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another Queer/Questioning – queer is an umbrella term for all those who are not heterosexual and/or cisgender, questioning is when a person is unsure of their sexual orientation and/or gender and are trying to find their true identity Agender/Asexual – agender is a person who is internally ungendered or does not have a felt sense of gender identity, asexuality is when a person experiences no or little sexual attraction to people + – The symbol stands for all the other sexualities, sexes and genders that are not included in the letters above

Transgender and Transsexual Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex. Transgender people are sometimes called transsexual if they desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another.

Genderqueer A person whose gender identity is neither man nor woman, is between or

beyond genders, or is some combination of genders. It is an umbrella term for many different gender identities such as:   Genderfluid: a gender that changes   Pangender: identifying as all genders  Bigender /Trigender: identifying as two/three genders

Transvestite/Cross-dresser Individuals who regularly or occasionally wear the clothing socially assigned to a gender not their own, but are not transsexuals.

Transphobia Fear of or hatred towards transgender people. Transphobia is manifested in a number of ways, including violence, harassment and discrimination. Eunuch A man who has been castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences. Eunuchs have been categorized as third gender in many cultures.

Gender affirming treatments Transgender people may seek any one of a number of gender affirming interventions, including hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgery, facial hair removal, interventions for the modification of speech and communication and behavioural adaptations.

General Overview

Forms of Discrimination

LGBT people exist everywhere and archaeological evidences – from prehistoric rock paintings in Egypt to ancient Indian medical texts and early Ottoman literature – show that they have always been part of our communities. In fact, it was Western colonial powers that imposed the criminal laws that punish same-sex conduct. Nowadays more than one third of the world’s countries criminalize private, consensual same-sex conduct, legitimizing prejudice and putting millions of people at risk of hate crimes, physical assault, psychological bullying, family violence, blackmail, prosecution, arrest and imprisonment. Some countries are also passing ‘gay propaganda’ laws, e.g. Russia. Such laws violate the rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination under international law. Additionally, in 10 countries same-sex acts can be punished with death penalty. Few countries permit transgender people to obtain legal recognition of their gender identity, and in most parts of the world intersex children are forced to undergo sex affirmation treatment, causing both physical and psychological pain as well as leaving children deprived from freedom of decision. In many cases, a lack of adequate legal protection combined with hostile public attitudes leads to widespread discrimination against LGBTI people – including workers being fired from jobs, students bullied and expelled from schools and patients denied essential healthcare. Discrimination has a tremendous personal cost for those who experience it. Rates of poverty, homelessness, depression and suicide are far higher among LGBT people than in the non-LGBT population. Furthermore, criminalization impedes efforts to halt the spread of HIV by deterring LGBT people from coming forward for testing and treatments as a result of their fear of revealing criminal activity. In addition to this, a UN Free & Equal Campaign’s study showed that the marginalization of the LGBT community was causing a substantial loss of potential economic output, stating that “Every LGBT child thrown out of home and forced to miss out on education is a loss for society. Every LGBT worker denied their rights are a lost opportunity to build a fairer and more productive economy.”

Legal Recognition Worldwide

Currently Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal legally recognizes a third gender, and in 2015 Thailand was supposed to include the recognition of a third gender in its new constitution. Yet, many of these countries do not recognise same-sex marriage, relationship or civil unions. Despite its lack of legal recognition of a third gender, Sweden has even introduced the gender-neutral pronoun ‘hen’ to refer to people without revealing their gender(s). However, the US and the UK still does not allow a non-specific gender option on legal documents. In 2017, California became the first state in the US to recognize a third gender option by signing The Gender Recognition Act. Although there are signs that American society is increasingly willing to acknowledge the transgender community, the size of the transgender population remains uncertain, since in censuses only gender binary categories are available. On the other hand, even in countries where third gender individuals are recognized, they are in a highly disadvantageous situation. For instance, in India trans people are not only often rejected by their families, but are also regularly denied jobs and excluded from mainstream society, forcing many to turn to prostitution and begging on the street. On a national level some states have proposed initiations to tackle discrimination based on sex by passing a Sex Discrimination Act such as the UK in 1975 and Australia in 1984.

Third gender in different cultures

Since the origins of mankind, different cultures have their own terms to describe people who form same-sex relationships and those who exhibit non-binary gender identities. In the 4th century BC, Greek philosopher Plato wrote Symposium, where a playwright tells a story of creation in which original human nature includes a third sex as a distinct kind, but now only the word ‘androgynous’ is preserved. Even earlier in South Asia, the hijras appeared as a community that include people born with both male and female biological traits, transgender people, eunuchs and even cross- dressers. According to the Laws of Manu, which form the basis of Hindu rules, “A male child is produced by a greater quantity of male seed, a female child by the prevalence of the female, and if both are equal, a third-sex child or boy-and-girl twins are produced.” In Hinduism, the goddess Shiva is still worshipped as half-male, half-female. Celebrated in sacred Indian texts, hijras had long been part of South Asian cultures, but colonial authorities viewed them as violating the social order. As in most indigenous cultures third gender individuals were ascribed special spiritual powers, hijras are also supposed to have supernatural powers through which they can bless people or curse them. Also, the indigenous North Americans held ‘Two- Spirit people’ in high respect; they focused on their spiritual gifts instead of their sexual orientation, and saw them as doubly blessed, having both the spirit of a man and the spirit of a woman. In Thailand third gender people, ‘kathoeys’ have become entirely common in the society as a result of Buddhist beliefs, which originally recognised four genders. Such people are called ‘meti’ in Nepal, ‘fa’afafine’ in Samoa, ‘fakaleiti’ in Tonga, while in Mexico, in the Oaxaca region ‘muxes’ are children identified as male at birth, but who chose at a young age to be raised as female. In the indigenous Zapoteca culture having a muxe person in the family was seen as good luck and even a blessing. Mexicans in Oaxaca state also established the ‘Vigil of the Intrepids’, a festival celebrating ambiguous gender identities. In Europe, in the Balcan Sworn virgins emerged in the 15th century in Albanian communities. They were women who had taken oaths of celibacy and lived as men in order to gain certain rights and privileges.

Major Countries and Organizations Involved

International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)

ILGA is the world federation of national and local organisations dedicated to achieving equal rights for LGBTI people across the globe. Established in 1978, ILGA enjoys consultative status at the UN ECOSOC Council. The association is funded by governments, private foundations and private donors. They represent LGBTI civil society within the United Nations and other international organisations, support their members and other organisations in promoting and protecting human rights and raise awareness and inform institutions, government, media and civil society through advocacy and research. The International Intersex Forum is also an annual event organised, then later supported by the ILGA and ILGA-Europe that began in 2011. The forum brings together intersex activists and organisations from multiple regions of the world and it is believed to be the first and only such intersex event. In

April 2017 the 4th International Intersex Forum was held in Amsterdam.

Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE)

GATE is an international organization since 2009 working on gender identity, sex characteristics and, more broadly, on bodily diversity issues. They work on supporting trans, gender diverse and intersex movements by producing and making available critical knowledge, promoting their access to organizational resources, such as funding, training, mentoring, personal and professional supporting systems, and advocating with them to make human rights a lived reality. Organisation Intersex International (OII)

Founded in 2003, OII is one of the largest global advocacy and support groups for people with intersex traits. OII was established to give voice to intersex people, and it acknowledges intersex as a normal human biological variation, and rejects the terminology of disorder. They recognise intersex people's own distinct sexuality, as people who may identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, trans, straight, or other, in alliance with other members of the LGBTI population. Global Respect in Education (GRIN)

GRIN Campaign was founded by a British teenage student in response to the large number of LGBTQ+ suicides both In the US and the UK. Their main mission is to unite globally and stand up to bullying, especially of the LGBTQ community. They are fighting to empower everybody to demand equality and respect and hold accountable those who stand in the way.

International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO)

The IGLYO is the largest LGBTQI youth and student network in the world, with over 95 members in 40+ countries. They are building young activists, increasing the visibility and highlighting the diversity of LGBTQI youth identities, trying to make education safe and inclusive for all and developing and sustaining an engaged and connected network of member organisations.

OutRight Action International

Since 1990, OutRight seeks to advance human rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ people around the world by developing critical partnerships at global, regional, and national levels to build capacity, document violations, advocate for inclusion and equality, and hold leaders accountable for protecting the rights of all LGBTIQ people. As an international LGBTIQ organization with a long history of productive and trusting relationships with grassroots LGBTIQ communities worldwide, they serve as a bridge between local communities and high-impact power executives.

Timeline of Events

2100 BC First records of intentional castration to produce eunuchs from the Sumerian city of Lagash. since 1500 BC References to a third sex can be found throughout the texts of India’s three ancient spiritual traditions: Hinduism (Shiva), Janinism and Buddhism. 1400s Sworn virgins emerge in Albanian communities in the Balkans. 1860s Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, a German thinker and writer, outlines a theory of homosexuality using "third sex" to categorize men attracted to other men. He also describes such a man as having "a female psyche confined in a male body." This theory competes with Charles Darwin’s writings on sexual selection, which assert that two sexes exist for the purpose of reproduction. 1871 British administrators pass the Criminal Tribes Act in India, effectively outlawing the country’s hijras. 2 May 1887 Birth of Alex McFarlane, an intersex person, who is believed to be the first person in Australia to obtain a birth certificate recording sex as indeterminate 1970 Mexicans in Oaxaca state establish Vela de las Intrepidas (Vigil of the Intrepids), a festival celebrating ambiguous gender identities. 1980 The American Psychiatric Association (APA) codifies "gender identity disorder," a condition in which there is a disparity between a person’s assigned sex and expressed gender identity. The diagnosis allows practitioners to justify hormone treatment, sex-reassignment surgery, and other care. 1980s Iran’s supreme leader issues a fatwa proclaiming no religious restriction on reassignment surgery, previously sanctioned only for intersex people. Today, Iran is a top destination for the surgery. 17 May 1990 The World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. November 2006 The Yogyakarta Principles, a document about human rights in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics are published. 21 Dec 2007 Nepal’s Supreme Court mandates that the government establish a third-gender category ("other") on citizenship documents 15 Sept 2011 The Australian government announces that passports will include a third-gender option. However, the new regime has limitations: Applicants wishing to select "X" as their gender must provide a letter from a medical professional confirming that they are intersex or do not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth

November 2013 Germany became the first European country to allow parents to register new-borns as indeterminate on birth certificates.

Nov/Dec 2013 The Third International Intersex Forum stated that intersex children registered as females or males at birth should be provided the opportunity to amend sex and gender classifications to female, male or non-binary through a simple administrative procedure. Also, in the future, gender should not be a category on birth certificates or identification documents for anybody.

13 Feb 2014 Facebook expands gender settings on user profiles including

some 50 new options 15 April 2014 India’s Supreme Court recognizes the right of people, including hijras, to identify as third gender. The ruling requires the government to establish quotas for third-gender people in employment and education, like those already in place for other minorities

Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue

Relevant UN Treaties and Resolutions:

  Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation

and gender identity, 30th June 2016 (A/HRC/RES/32/2)     Human Rights Council resolution - Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity,   17th June 2011 (A/HRC/RES/17/19)    Human Rights Council resolution - Human rights, sexual orientation and gender  identity, 26th September 2014 (A/HRC/RES/27/32) Human rights relevant to the recognition of sex identity

  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) focusing on the human rights specifically relevant to people who are sex or gender diverse     Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) focusing on human, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights specifically relevant to people under the age of 18 who are sex or gender diverse UN Free & Equal global campaign against homophobia and transphobia

In July 2013, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) initiated UN Free & Equal, a global UN public information campaign aimed at promoting equal rights and fair treatment of LGBTI people. Since its launch, the campaign has reached an estimated two billion people through traditional and social media, and generated a stream of widely shared materials – including powerful videos, impactful graphics and plain-language fact sheets. National UN Free & Equal campaigns and events have been organized in 25 countries, with visible support from UN, political, community and religious leaders and from celebrities in all regions of the world.

The Yogyakarta Principles

In March 2007, a group of human rights experts adopted what are known as the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity. These experts included a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, several current or former United Nations special rapporteurs or treaty body members, judges, academics and activists. The Yogyakarta Principles provide guidance on how international human rights treaties should be interpreted in relation to the protection of gender diversity. The principles are persuasive in shaping our understanding of how existing binding human rights obligations apply and relate to people who are sex and gender diverse.

May 17 – International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia

Created in 2004, this worldwide celebration of sexual and gender diversities represents and annual landmark to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public media and the media to the violence discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally. May 17 is now celebrated in over 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal as the anniversary of the WHO declassifying homosexuality a mental disorder. There are some other international awareness days, too, such as the Intersex Awareness Day (26 Oct) and the Intersex Day of Remembrance or Intersex Day of Solidarity (8 Nov).

Possible Solutions and Approaches

∙ Allowing people over the age of 18 years to choose to have an unspecified sex or non-binary gender noted on documents and records ∙ Increasing public awareness and social acceptance of sex and gender identity issues ∙ Providing access to proper health services and treatment ∙ Introducing laws to provide appropriate protection from discrimination based on gender identity ∙ Making marital status an irrelevant consideration whether a person can request a change in legal sex ∙ Relaxing the evidentiary requirements for the legal recognition of sex by reducing the quantity of medical evidence required and making greater allowance for people to self-identify their sex ∙ Considering the special needs of children and young people who wish to amend their documents and records ∙ Suggesting that governments consider the development of national guidelines concerning the collection of sex and gender information from individuals ∙ Ensuring that there is a nationally consistent approach to the legal recognition of sex ∙ Ensuring that all federal government departments and agencies provide clear and accessible information relevant to legal recognition of sex in documents and records and how those documents and records can be amended

Useful Documents and Sources

1. Sex Files: the legal recognition of sex in documents and government records (2009) https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sexual-orientation-sex-gender- identity/publications/sex-files-legal-recognition-sex#Heading495

2. UN Factsheet – Intersex: https://unfe.org/system/unfe-65- Intersex_Factsheet_ENGLISH.pdf

3. UN Factsheet – International Human Rights Law and Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity: https://www.unfe.org/system/unfe-6-UN_Fact_Sheets_v6_- _International_Human_Rights_Law__and_Sexual_Orientation___Gender_Identity.pdf

4. Un Factsheet - LGBT Rights: https://www.unfe.org/system/unfe-7- UN_Fact_Sheets_v6_-_FAQ.pdf

5. Protection against discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity: https://www.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/offices/mun/2017/ib-2017- hrc-orientation-rights-final.pdf

Bibliography

LGBTI Rights: https://theadvocatespost.org/2017/05/20/nine-things-everyone- needs-to-know-about-international-lgbti-rights/

Which countries recognize a third gender?: https://www.seeker.com/which- countries-recognize-a-third-gender-1792625521.html Canada introduces a third gender category: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/canada-third-gender- x-category-passports-ircc-male-female-a7918421.html

UK - passports: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/gender- neutral-activist-takes-uk-passports-case-to-high-court

California: http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/355806-california-first-state- to-legally-recognize-third-gender-option Why we don’t know the size of the transgender population? : https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-we-dont-know-the-size-of-the- transgender-population/

Situation of third gender people in India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmWICmK37b4

Kathoeys: https://maytermthailand.org/2015/04/27/the-third-gender-in-thailand- kathoey/

Muxes: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/27/muxes-documentary- gender-fluid-lives-in-a-small-mexican-town

Two-Spirit: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/11/two-spirit-people-north- america Third gender: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender Genderqueer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderqueer

Gender identity disorder: http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Gender-identity- disorder.html Third gender and its recognition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuA4O_I76Wk

Gender affirming treatments: http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/trans?page=guidelines- overview Transgender: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender Third gender – A short history: http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/06/30/third-gender-a- short-history/ Legal recognition of non-binary gender: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_recognition_of_non-binary_gender Eunuch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunuch Cisgender: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/cisgender-meaning Relevant UN resolutions: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Discrimination/Pages/LGBTUNResolutions.aspx Definitions: https://campusclimate.berkeley.edu/students/ejce/geneq/resources/lgbtq- resources/definition-terms LGBTQIA+: https://lgbtqiainfo.weebly.com/acronym-letters-explained.html Sex and gender: https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/what-is-the-difference- between-sex-and-gender.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_distinction ILGA: http://ilga.org/about-us International Intersex Forum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Intersex_Forum GATE: https://transactivists.org/ Free & Equal campaign: https://www.unfe.org/ OII: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_Intersex_International GRIN Campaign: http://www.grincampaign.com/About_Us.html IGLYO: http://www.iglyo.com/about/ Outright: https://outrightinternational.org/how-we-work May 17: http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/what-is-may-17th/ Annex: Third gender symbol https://pride-flags.deviantart.com/art/Third-Gender-Symbol-606306835

Transgender pride flag and symbol

Legal recognition of non-binary gender

Criminalization of same-sex