Japan is doing something amazing for its LGBTQ citizens.
A couple days ago, it was reported that trans citizens are being given support by the Japanese government to go through affirming surgery.
Japan Today reports that, through social security, the government is aiding LGBTQ people in the surgery. Previously, trans people could update their names on health insurance cards and now it seems some are given financial support as well.
That said, it isn’t being offered to everyone. Only those who weren’t already on hormone therapy and don’t have preexisting conditions are allowed to have the funding for the surgery.
On top of that, there’s another catch. In order to undergo the surgery, one has to be sterilized and go through tests.
“The legal requirements for transgender people in Japan to obtain a GID (gender identity disorder) diagnosis, involve unnecessary, arbitrary, and burdensome tests,” said the Human Rights Watch.
“The mandatory psychiatric evaluation and the law’s requirement that applicants be unmarried, sterile and lacking any children under 20 are inherently discriminatory.”
It seems that with every step forward, there are a few steps back.
h/t: GayStarNews
