Aneesha Ahluwalia, staff at Institute of Public Health, said that putting transgender under mental disorders classification is not the right thing to do scientifically and has some serious implications.
“According to a 2011 census, India has 4.9 lakh transgenders and it is estimated that this number is likely to be six to seven times more. If we look at it, transgenderism is a biological phenomenon affecting the reproductive health of the individual. As rightly pointed out in the report, transgenders face stigmatisation, which can lead to stress, depression and other mental disorders. If we consider transgenderism as a mental illness, it has serious consequences. It is a well-known fact that transgenders fall under the high-risk groups for diseases like HIV. Since mental disorders fall under the purview of psychiatrists, other health-related conditions may remain undiagnosed and may cause further deterioration in their health,”.
