Transgender people no longer considered to have mental disorder by World Health Organization
Also known as gender incongruence, the term has now been reclassified as a sexual health condition to address healthcare needs
The World Health Organization will no longer consider people who are transgender to have a mental disorder.
The United Nations’ health agency announced Monday that gender incongruence — also known as gender dysphoria — is now being reclassified as a sexual health condition.
In a report released with the decision, WHO said they updated the International Classification for Diseases to align their list with current research and to stop vilification of transgender people.
“Evidence is now clear that it is not a mental disorder, and indeed classifying it [as such] can cause enormous stigma for people who are transgender,” the report states. As for keeping gender incongruence under the umbrella of the ICD, the report notes that there remains “significant health care needs that can best be met if the condition is coded under the ICD.”
Dr. Lale Say, Coordinator for the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, agreed in a video, saying that changing the classification will end stigma and increase access to healthcare.
“Removing gender incongruence from mental health chapter is expected to reduce stigma and help better social acceptance of individuals living with gender incongruence,” she said. “In terms of healthcare provision, we don’t expect much change because this category will still have a place in ICD. In fact, it may even increase access because it will reduce stigma and it will help individuals to seek care more.”
Say also said that, while feedback from advocacy groups was considered, the decision to reclassify gender incongruence was made based on mostly scientific evidence and decisions within the health community.
“Certainly it’s crucial to listen and hear the voices of the patient groups and we use this in many of our work, but in this case, the decision was not only based on the advocacy or feedback of the concerned communities,” she said. “All available evidence was reviewed and discussed by an external advisory group, and together with a scientific basis of this condition and the feedback from the professional community and the concerned community formed the basis of this decision.”
Rebecca Stinson, head of trans inclusion at the LGBT charity Stonewall, told Newsweek: “Being trans is not a mental illness and it’s great to see the WHO recognize this. Trans people seeking support need to be accepted for who they are.”
The WHO’s move comes after a recent study found that transgender people’s brains more closely resemble their gender identity, rather than their assigned sex at birth.
Watch Dr. Say’s video explaining the decision below:
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