Transgender Persons, Transsexuals, and Intersexuals
With respect to transgender persons, the governmental Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported in April 2012,
ransgender people in Kenya suffer stigma and discrimination and are not able to access gender re-assignment therapy. A witness who testified at the Inquiry indicated that she had undergone all the processes of re-assignment but Kenyatta National Hospital declined the surgery and did not offer any reasons for declining. Her attempts to appeal to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist's Board have not been successful. Without being allowed to complete the therapy, transgender people suffer identity problems since they are biologically either male or female, yet they present themselves in one of the gender by mode of dressing, personality expressions or through other socially defined roles. When arrested, police often face difficulties regarding what cells (male or female) to detain transgender individuals. When at entertainment areas, they are afraid of using bathrooms designated for either sex for fear of being caught by other people and accused or mistaken to be using bathrooms for sexual crimes. The witness testified that sometimes they meet opposite sex partners who demand to have sexual relationships with them. When they discover that they are not female or male (depending on the gender of the sex partner), they scream and attract members of public to the hotel room causing public nuisance, stigma and embarrassment to the transgender person.
Transsexuals and intersexuals also face stigma, discrimination, and violence in Kenya. Discrimination against intersexuals is prevalent, as is sexual violence. This is in the areas of recognisition of a third sex by the government, access to justice, employment and other spheres of public life.
Transgender Education and Advocacy (TEA) is "a human rights organization working towards ending human rights violations against transgender / transsexual people. Established in December 2008, the TEA aims to change the public mentality towards transgender / transsexual people through awareness raising campaigns, advocating for legal and policy reforms and empowering transgender / transsexual people".
Read more about this topic: LGBT Rights In Kenya