South Korean Government Urged to Collect Statistical Data on Trans People

Seoul, 21 Mar The independent human rights commission in South Korea today recommended that authorities begin collecting data from transgender people in order to produce national statistical reports and better understand their situation and needs. In a statement released today, the Korean National Human Rights Commission (NHRCK) insists that this is the only way the Government can lift this group out of the invisibility in which it lives in the Asian country and begin to develop policies to improve their quality of life. The recommendation is addressed to the Ministries of Health, the Interior and Gender Equality and Family, in addition to the Korean Office of National Statistics. “Transgender people experience discrimination and hate based on prejudice in spaces of their daily lives, such as in their workplace, school, media, or during the use of administrative services, medical facilities or financial institutions” in South Korea, the text states. According to a survey conducted in 2020 by the NHRCK itself, more than 65% of transgender people consulted said they had been victims of discrimination or hate speech because of their sexual identity in the past year and more than 57% said they had been treated for depression. In turn, almost 25% claimed to suffer from panic disorder and 30% claimed to be in poor health conditions. In the light of the few statistics that exist in South Korea on these people “it follows that they are not considered as a target population group when it comes to policy making,” the statement adds. The NHRCK also called on the National Statistical Office to remove transsexuality from its list of mental illnesses, as such classification “most likely reinforces social prejudices and stigmas against transgender people.” CHIEF asb/fp