The OHRC is mandated to undertake public education activities directed at promoting a greater understanding of human rights principles and voluntary compliance with the provisions of the Code.
The Commission has been aware of gender identity issues as far back as 1984. The Commission has received complaints from transsexuals in areas such as access to services, employment, lack of OHIP coverage for sex reassignment surgery, and access to medical care. However, the Commission has not specifically tracked the number of complaints connected with this issue.
The methodology for this discussion paper included:
consultation with members and representatives of the transgendered community,
review of jurisprudence and legislation in Canada and in other jurisdictions,
literature review, and
review of other human rights commission policies.
Although the reviews of literature and case law were not exhaustive, the intention was to identify significant trends and developments related to the issue of gender identity.
Transgendered people have existed throughout history. Several cultures have integrated behaviours related to sex and gender that today would be seen by North American culture as incongruent with socially acceptable behaviours.[8]
As with many emerging human rights issues, terminology is a powerful and, at times, a controversial tool. In consultation, one group of transsexuals expressed concern about the use of the term ‘transgendered’ to describe their experience because it covers so many different types of behaviour and can undermine the importance of individual or particular issues faced by transsexuals.
Transgendered people have clearly identified that they should be addressed based on the gender they present. Male to female transsexuals, transgenderists, and cross-dressers who present as women should be addressed as women. Female to male transsexuals, transgenderists and cross-dressers who present as men should be addressed as men.
Transgendered people come from all walks of life, and are represented in every race, class, culture, and sexual orientation. ‘Gender identity disorders’ have been identified in children as young as 3 years of age and in adults as old as 70. There is no definitive statistical information that speaks to the prevalence of ‘gender identity disorder’ in the general population. The statistical information that does exist varies both in terms of numbers and the sub-groups that are identified.
‘Coming out’ as a transsexual person connotes a cycle or pattern of acknowledgement that one’s gender identity does not match one’s birth assigned sex. That cycle may begin, for example, with acknowledgement to one’s self and move toward public acknowledgement. However, for many people, this process is not linear. It does not start with denial and end with acknowledgement. It may be a non-linear process where the individual struggles with denial and acknowledgement over a period of time until coming to terms with the true gender self.
Recently, there has been more attention to the issues faced by transgendered people. Occasionally, some sources of the mainstream media have begun to address these issues in a more constructive fashion[22] but myths and misinformation persist and only serve to reinforce stereotypes.