LGBTQ POLICY JOURNAL POLICY LGBTQ LGBTQ POLICY JOURNAL at the Harvard Kennedy School Volume VI, 2015–2016 Trans* Rights: The Time Is Now Featured Articles Trans* Rights: The Time Is Now Rights: The Time Trans* U.S. Department of Justice Agency Facilitates Improved Transgender Community-Police Relations Reclaiming the Gender Framework: Contextualizing Jurisprudence on Gender Identity in UN Human Rights Mechanisms The Forced Sterilization of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People in Singapore A Paradigm Shift for Trans Funding: Reducing Disparities and Centering Human Rights Principles VOLUME VI, 2015–2016 Our Mission To inspire thoughtful debate, challenge commonly held beliefs, and move the conversation forward on LGBTQ rights and equality. A Harvard Kennedy School Student Publication | www.hkslgbtq.com LGBTQ POLICY JOURNAL AT THE HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL VOLUME VI Trans* Rights: The Time Is Now 2015 - 2016 WWW.HKSLGBTQ.COM All views expressed in the LGBTQ Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School are those of the authors or interviewees only and do not represent the views of Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the staff of the LGBTQ Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School, the advisory board, or any associates of the journal. © 2016 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise specified, no article or portion herein is to be reproduced or adapted to other works without the expressed written consent of the editors of the LGBTQ Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School. ISSN# 2160-2980 STAFF Editors-in-Chief Stephen Leonelli Alex Rothman Managing Editors Charles Fletcher Jonathan Lane Editors Danny Ballon Katie Blaisdell Wes Brown Alice Heath Shane Hebel Chaz Kelsh Priscilla Lee Scott Valentine Jenny Weissbourd ADVISORY BOARD Masen Davis Global Action for Trans* Equality Jeff Krehely Louis Lopez US Office of Special Counsel Timothy McCarthy John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Carl Sciortino AIDS Action Committee Winnie Stachelberg The Center for American Progress SPECIAL THANKS Richard Parker Faculty Advisor Martha Foley Publisher Kennedy School Student Government TABLE OF CONTENTS 2016 Special Edition – Trans* Rights: The Time Is Now 4 // Letter from the Editors-in-Chief ARTICLES 7 // Department of Justice Agency Facilitates Improved Transgender Community-Police Relations Christopher “Kit” Chalberg and Kelly Collins-McMurry 22 // Reclaiming the Gender Framework: Contextualizing Jurispru- dence on Gender Identity in UN Human Rights Mechanisms Sheherezade Kara 33 // Human Rights Appropriation in the Development of Trans* Organizations’ Membership: The Case of Honduras Enrique Restoy, PhD 45 // Sex Reassignment Therapy and the Right to Health Ignatius Yordan Nugraha 53 // The Forced Sterilization of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People in Singapore Vanessa Ho, Sherry Sherqueshaa, and Darius Zheng 6 // “Like a Stray Dog on the Street”: Trans* Refugees Encounter Further Violence in the Cities Where They Flee Jennifer S. Rosenberg 89 // The Other Side of the Mirror: Eating Disorder Treatment and Gender Identity Evelyn Deshane 102 // A Paradigm Shift for Trans Funding: Reducing Disparities and Centering Human Rights Principles Masen Davis, Sarah Gunther, Dave Scamell, and Mauro Cabral A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY The LGBTQ Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School intentionally chose to use “trans*” in our messaging and language for this edition, in order to emphasize the diversity of gender identities and expressions we hoped would be represented in submissions. The use of an asterisk began in recent years to convey that “trans” was not limited to a binary of transwomen and transmen, but additionally inclusive of gender-non-conforming, gender fluid, genderqueer, bigender, transsexual, transves- tite, and other non-cisgenders. We felt this was the best way to articulate rejection of a binary, even within the context of “trans” issues. At the same time, we recognize language diversity throughout the world, and we were not prescriptive with authors to use language they were uncomfortable with. We recognize that language is power, and also a site for contention. As language continues to evolve, so will the LGBTQ Policy Journal. LETTER FROM THE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Dear Readers, In August 1966, trans women, drag queens, and sex workers rioted against po- lice violence and anti-transgender discrimination at the Compton Cafeteria in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. Three years later, in Greenwich Village in New York City, the same forces of police brutality, legalized transphobia, and violent homophobia triggered days of protests, later known as the Stonewall Uprising. This was the beginning of the national movement for LGBTQ rights. Throughout the world, trans* and gender-non-conforming communities have been at the forefront of movements to end oppression based on gender and sexuality. And while progress has been slow in the fifty years since the Compton Cafeteria riots, recent times have brought hard-won victories. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled the prohibition of discrim- ination based on sex in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act includes trans* people.1 The Department of Health and Human Services overturned an out- dated policy and now allows Medicare to cover sex reassignment surgery.2 La- verne Cox became the first transgender person to be featured on the cover of Time magazine and nominated for an Emmy.3 In Nepal, Malta, Australia, and New Zealand, a third gender category is permitted on official documents, such as passports.4 Thailand opened the first trans* health and support center in Asia.5 In South America, Michelle Suárez Bértora and Tamara Adrián became the first openly transgender women to be elected to national legislatures, in Uruguay and Venezuela, respectively.6 And yet, despite these gains, trans* people and trans* issues continue to be marginalized in virtually every society in the world. According to a study by the US National LGBT Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality, one in four trans* people has been subjected to transphobic violence.7 Individuals with multiple marginalized identities—low-income transgender women of color, for example—face the highest rates of assault, both in the United States and abroad. In Brazil, there were forty-eight reported murders of transwomen in January 2016 alone.8 Transgender individuals are twice as likely to be unemployed and four times as likely to be living in extreme poverty in the United States. This trend holds in Europe as well, where the Fundamental Rights Agency found that trans* individuals are substantially less likely to be in paid employment compared to cisgender peers.9 Recent reports from Black and Pink and Human Rights Watch describe the abysmal situation for trans* incarcerated people and gender-non-conforming individuals in detention cen- 4 LGBTQ POLICY JOURNAL ters in America.10 States such as Malaysia, Kuwait, Nigeria, and others enforce laws that criminalize “posing” as the “opposite” gender.11 This is the reality for trans* people: hard-won victories are juxtaposed with daunting challenges. The LGBTQ Policy Journal at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University chose to focus on trans* policy this year, in an effort to further the discussion about the roles policymakers—at all levels of society and in all sectors—can play in impacting trans* lives for the better. This year’s journal features eight phenomenal articles covering a range of top- ics. Sheherezade Kara assesses human rights mechanisms at the United Na- tions, and the degree to which these mechanisms, and frameworks such as “gender-based violence,” adequately include and protect trans* rights. En- rique Restoy takes us to the local level, examining the ways that transwomen community-based organizations in Honduras are appropriating international human rights norms for empowerment and to defend their rights. Again looking to international human rights law, Ignatius Yordan Nugraha argues the right to health entitles transgender people to sex reassignment ther- apy. Vanessa Ho, Sherry Sherqueshaa, and Darius Zheng present the case of Singapore’s gender recognition law, and the way it constrains and enables dif- ferent segments of the trans* and gender-non-conforming communities. Considering the recent refugee crisis sweeping Europe, Jennifer S. Rosen- berg urges for policies that reflect the unique needs of trans* people, distinct from a broad LGBTI approach. The necessity of trans*-specific policy design is echoed in Evelyn Deshane’s article, which discusses the ways transgender men and non-binary people treated for eating disorders are impacted by gendered language and misunderstandings about trans* identities. Kit Chalberg and Kelly Collins-McMurry offer an analysis of strategies being tested at the Community Relations Service Agency in the US Depart- ment of Justice to improve the relationship between the trans* community and police. Finally, Masen Davis, Sarah Gunther, Dave Scamell, and Mauro Cabral de- scribe the contemporary landscape of funding for trans* organizing, and argue that a “paradigm shift” in philanthropy is necessary to sustain the movement. These articles present some of the challenges and opportunities that exist in crafting trans*-inclusive policies. At the same time, the issues explored here comprise only a subset of the trans* community’s policy needs. To name but a few areas for