“Root causes of misogyny & transphobia are the same”
To mark this International Women’s Day, Transgender Europe (TGEU) unveils the new fact sheet 10 Facts on Transgender Rights & Gender Equality [1], highlighting 10 facts which show why the trans and women’s rights movement should work in mutual solidarity and support each other in the face of gender inequality.
Gender-Based Violence is one of the salient issues for both movements as one in three women, and 34% of trans people in the EU have been victims of violence. During 2015, more than 10 trans persons were reported murdered in Europe, while just in February 2016, 30 murders of trans people have been reported globally. Transphobia is closely related to misogyny and sex worker phobia: 99% of reported trans murder victims between 2008-2015 were trans women [2].
Gender stereotypes often reduce women and trans people to being the punch lines of jokes, over sexualizing and devaluing their personalities. While trans people are regularly expected to overtly comply with these traditional norms, women, men and all other gender identities suffer from the societal taboos which limit everyone’s exploration of diverse gender roles.
Julia Ehrt, TGEU Executive Director said “While the individual experience of discrimination, violence or ridicule can be different among women, trans women and trans people in general, the root causes are the same: gendered expectations towards the individual. Our movements can and should work together to overcome those stereotypes for the benefit of all.”
Embracing the intersectionality of our identities can lead to a more diverse representation of voices within our calls for the access to human rights for all. Both the women’s rights and trans movements are shaped by diverse realities, representing a diverse group where ethnicity, (dis)ability, class, age, and gender intersect.
Finally, Ehrt added “it is clear that trans rights are a gender equality issue, and there are cross cutting issues, like challenging stereotypes, and gender-based violence which we, as a trans rights movement, should address together with the women’s rights movement. Greater gender diversity will benefit all of society, and the trans rights movement should support full equality for all women.”
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Notes
[1] The “10 Facts on Transgender Rights and Gender Equality” factsheet covers the areas of; 1) Human Rights for Everyone!, 2) Patriarchy, 3) Intersectionality, 4) Gender Stereotypes, 5) Gender-Based Violence, 6) Bodily Integrity and Sexual & Reproductive Rights, 7) Employment, 8) Locked-up Potential, 9) Political Representation, and 10) Trans Equality is not a Threat to Women’s Rights, and can be downloaded on http://tgeu.org/10-facts-on-transgender-rights-gender-equality/
[2] See: Trans Murder Monitoring, http://transrespect.org/en/research/trans-murder-monitoring/
Transgender Europe is a European human rights NGO working for the human rights and equality of all trans people. More Information: www.tgeu.org
Transgender or Trans is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or expression differs from the sex assigned to them at birth.