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From Southern Voice, 17 December, 1998, via GAIN (http://www.gender.org/gain/).
LAWRENCE, KS--The University of Kansas Student Senate voted to extend nondiscrimination and harassment policies to protect transgendered persons, the Kansas City newspaper Pitchweekly reported. At a November 18 meeting, the Student Senate unanimously passed an amendment to inlcude the phrase "gender identity or expression" in three key places of the code of "Student Rights and Responsibilities," which applies to graduate and undergraduate students but not faculty or staff. While the "Student Rights and Responsibilities" code is more of a moral guide covering matters like cheating on exams and conduct on campus, violations can result in fines and even expulsion. |
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From InYourFace on-line news. For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC website at http://www.gpac.org
[New York, NY: 14 Dec 98] The New Jersey Times Reports that Dr. Carla Enriquez, a pediatrician, has filed a suit against West Jersey Health System (WJHS) alleging that they failed to renew her contract last year because she was transitioning from male to female. Enriquez, a trustee of The College of New Jersey since 1984, was 'terminated' on 22 Oct 97. Said her attorney, Lee Fiederer, "We brought the case under the New Jersey law against discrimination which protects individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation or affectation." The suit alleges that officials at WJHS were openly critical of Enriquez throughout her transition, and that WJHS denied her employment based on their disapproval, rather than any measure of ability. She began transitioning in Sep 96. She legally changed her name from Carlos to Carla and made the change in her physical appearance from male to female over that winter and the spring of the next year. The complaint alleges that in 1997 Dr. John Cossa, Vice President of WJHS, told her to "stop all this and go back to your previous appearance." After Enriquez refused to comply with these demands, WJHS took action to deny her employment. "We have a brilliant doctor, recognized nationally in her field, who was terminated solely based on her sexual affectation and orientation," said Fiederer. Riki Anne Wilchins, GenderPAC Executive Director, commented on this case on Court TV. She said, "That such blatant discrimination can happen to a fine doctor emphasizes the urgent need for employment protection at the local and state level and especially within the context of ENDA. The experience of this woman is echoed in the scores of responses we are receiving from people across the country to our National Survey on Gender and Sexual Orientation in the Workplace." |
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A December 22, 1998 story from The Times. Many more news items about this case can be found at http://www.pfc.org.uk/pfclists/, the web site of United Kingdom's Press for Change.
Health authority was wrong to deny operations on ground
of cost
Three transsexuals may be allowed to have their sex-change operations on the National Health Service after winning a High Court test case against the health authority that refused them surgery. They won a landmark ruling against North West Lancashire Health Authority's decision not to pay for operations, costing £7,000 to £9,000 each, which medical specialists say are crucial to completing their male-to-female transformation. Mr Justice Hidden held that the health authority's decision was "unlawful and irrational" and had been taken without consideration of what was the "proper treatment of a recognised illness". The health authority is seeking leave to appeal against the ruling, which it said affected decisions on the allocation of funding throughout the NHS. Miss A, 21, Miss D and Miss G, both 50, were refused gender-reassignment surgery in 1996 and 1997 after it was decided that they had not shown a demonstrable "overriding clinical need" for treatment. The health authority, which covers Blackpool and Preston, argued that it was entitled to take into account its "scarce resources" when deciding to refuse funding for the operations. But the judge said it was not entitled to operate a policy that interfered with its duty to provide treatment for "the prevention of illness and care of persons suffering an illness". Stephen Lodge, solicitor for the three, welcomed the ruling. "Other health authorities will now have to assess whether their treatment of transsexuals is lawful in the light of this judgment. "We hope that it will be easier for transsexuals to obtain the treatment they so clearly need and that it will help to alleviate the present injustice of arbitrary and unequal treatment by postcode." Miss A, who was in court, said: "I am not surprised by the ruling. It is the end of two years of hard work in fighting this legal battle. They should not have discriminated by postcode." Gerard Clarke, for the health authority, told the High Court that there was alternative treatment for transsexuals, in the form of psychotherapy, to reconcile them with their biological nature. But counsel for the three applicants said that the health authority had misunderstood the nature of their condition. It was not like "body image" problems such as tattoo removal or operations to alter breast or nose size. |
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From a press release from It's Time Oregon! Contact: Lori Buckwalter, Director. (transgal@yahoo.com) (503-234-4704)
Mayor Vera Katz and Portland City Council Mandate Anti-Discrimination MeasuresPortland Resolves to Respect Rights of Transgendered and Transsexual EmployeesLandmark Resolution Is Hailed By Community LeadersPortland, December 23, 1998: Portland's City Council today unanimously approved a resolution to take specific steps to prohibit discrimination based on "gender identity" within its workforce, in session at Portland City Hall. The resolution will start a process of expanded involvement by the City in creating protections in the public and private sectors. It states that "the City is in a position to demonstrate, through its own internal policies and procedures, the viability of a workplace which respects the rights of transgendered and transsexual people..." Specific items of resolution include:
For the purposes of this resolution, the definition of gender identity refers to "a person's actual or perceived sex, and includes a person's identity, appearance, or behavior, whether or not that identify, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth." Gender identity is thus a universal human right, of great importance to individuals who may be considered "variant" from traditional gender stereotypes, including transsexual and transgendered people, who are particularly vulnerable to employment discrimination. Other cities have made general statements of support for non-discrimination, but significantly, the City of Portland has made specific proposals to create a practical model workplace. Community leaders who testified expressed hope that this example of leadership on the part of the City will encourage expanded education and protections in private industry. The resolution was endorsed by representatives of groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, Basic Rights Oregon, It's Time, America!, the Metropolitan Community Church, the Lesbian Community Project, Equity Foundation, Northwest Gender Alliance, TransPort, Phoenix Rising, and others. Lori Buckwalter, Director of It's Time, Oregon!, an organization that promotes civil rights initiatives concerning gender identity, was involved in the work leading to this resolution. She states, in response to the City Council vote: "We are deeply grateful for the leadership role which the City has taken, and for the individual courage and compassion of the Mayor and Commissioners. The concern for the dignity of all the people of Portland, which we've come to expect from this City, is reaffirmed by this historic action. This initiative is supported by a wide range of sexual minority community leaders as well, and this is a sign of growing mutual respect within these communities." |
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