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Gender » Transsexual PeopleTranssexual PeopleTranssexualism The Medical Condition
The cause of the condition remains obscure. Many transsexual people benefit from
counselling and others live happier lives following hormone treatment and gender
reassignment surgery.
The main NHS centre providing specialist care for adults in England is at Charing
Cross Hospital in London. There are smaller services in Leeds, Leicester, Newcastle
and Bristol. The Gender Identity clinic at Charing Cross Hospital saw almost 470
new cases last year and has roughly 1,000 active patients. Data on the number
of gender reassignment operations performed in the NHS is collected as part of
the Hospital Episode Statistics. In 1997/8 there were 44 male-to-female operations
and 4 female-to-male operations. A study of private-public mix of acute hospital
care published by the Association of British Insurers recorded 104 gender reassignment
operations in the private sector in 1997/8.
Gender Reassignment
At present, in certain circumstances, a transsexual person's acquired gender
is recognised but only where the issue is one of identifying the individual rather
than determining their legal status. Thus, on the production of evidence that
a person is living as a member of the opposite sex (e.g. a letter from the medical
practitioner) documents such as a driving licence, passport, car registration
document, National Insurance and medical card may be issued in the new identity.
This has eased some of the difficulties faced by transsexual people.
The most frequently mentioned concerns of transsexual people are the wish to have a birth certificate showing their new gender, to marry in that gender and, most importantly, the grant of legal recognition of their acquired gender for all purposes. (Source: Home Office Report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People)
The Status of Transsexual People in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom a person is allowed to change their name and personal details and to live as a member of the sex opposite to that recorded at birth. The majority of transsexual people also undergo medical treatment, which can include hormone therapy and reconstructive surgery. This is only provided following careful assessment by medical professionals, and may take some time. The current legal position in the United Kingdom is that a person remains throughout
their life (the sex recorded at birth). For transsexual people this means that
their legal status cannot be amended to reflect their current identity, despite
medical treatment and / or a change of social gender.
(Source: Transsexual People in the Workplace. A Code of Practice)
EQUALITY MAINSTREAMING - Policy and Practice for Transgender People
This is the first report to focus specifically on the transgender population
in Northern Ireland. It was commissioned by the Equality Directorate at the Office
of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister to provide an evidence base
to assist bodies in effectively considering transgender issues in the development
of policy and practice.
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