The Trans Rights Indicator Project by Myles Williamson gives insights into the legal situations transgender people faced in 173 countries from 2000 to 2021. Countries are scored based on 13 indicators, capturing the absence of criminalization and the presence of gender recognition and anti-discrimination laws. Though many countries were improving, by 2021 the average global score remained low at just 3/13.
Transgender Rights Score
Number of Countries with Score
Unknown Score
Year
Region
Country
Vietnam, 2021
0/13
No Criminalization
0/2
No direct criminalization laws Direct criminalization refers to laws that explicitly criminalize individuals based on gender identity or expression when it diverges from traditional expectations of birth-assigned sex. They typically include provisions against “cross-dressing” or “disguising” as a different sex/gender.
No indirect criminalization laws Indirect criminalization occurs when countries arbitrarily use laws unrelated to gender identity or expression to target transgender people. For example, security forces may use laws concerning “public order”, “vagrancy”, “morality”, “decency”, and other vague offenses to indirectly criminalize individuals. Laws only count as indirect criminalization if at least one credible source states that countries used them to target transgender people.
Legal Gender Recognition
0/5
Gender marker change allowed Whether a national law or policy allows gender marker changes on identity documents beyond travel documents alone. Countries receive no score if national law does not specify this right (e.g. the United States) or if gender marker changes are prohibited (e.g. Hungary). Subnational laws or established practices that have not been codified into national law were not counted.
No physiological requirements Physiological requirements refer to any prohibitive medical interventions that an individual must undergo to alter their body or sex characteristics before they can amend their gender marker. This may include interventions such as hormone therapy, surgery, or sterilization.
No psychological requirements Psychological requirements stipulate that individuals must receive a diagnosis or documented treatment by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health medical professional before they can amend their gender marker.
No divorce/single-status requirements Divorce/single-status provisions require individuals to be divorced or otherwise unmarried to qualify for a legal gender marker change. This enables countries to allow legal gender marker changes without recognizing same-sex marriages.
Nonbinary/third gender marker options Whether countries have national recognition of gender designation outside of the traditional binary markers “Male” or “Female”. Examples include the “Other” (“Anya”) designation in Nepal and the “X” marker in Malta. In some cases, these markers are available but reserved for those with specific identities, e.g. the “Hijra” designation in Bangladesh. These individuals may or may not self-identify as transgender, but these cases are counted since an alternate marker is available.
Legal Anti-discrimination Protection
0/6
General protections General anti-discrimination protections are laws and policies that are not entirely specific to one sector, providing broad-based protections from discrimination against certain characteristics of individuals or groups. E.g. Montenegro’s 2010 Law on Prohibition of Discrimination prohibits “any form of discrimination, on any ground” and explicitly states that “unequal treatment [...] based on gender identity or sexual orientation, shall be deemed to be discrimination.”
Constitutional protections Constitutional protections are anti-discrimination provisions that are embedded within a country’s constitution. E.g. Article 14 of Bolivia’s 2009 constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination based on several grounds, including gender identity and sexual orientation. Though constitutional protections do not guarantee that countries will adopt other anti-discrimination policies, they help establish a more inclusive legal foundation.
Employment protections The presence of anti-discrimination laws and policies that protect transgender people within the employment sector. These must explicitly protect individuals on the grounds of gender identity, gender expression, or gender “reassignment”. Implicit inclusion on the grounds of sex alone did not count.
Education protections The presence of anti-discrimination laws and policies that protect transgender people within the education sector. These must explicitly protect individuals on the grounds of gender identity, gender expression, or gender “reassignment”. Implicit inclusion on the grounds of sex alone did not count.
Healthcare protections The presence of anti-discrimination laws and policies that protect transgender people within the healthcare sector. These must explicitly protect individuals on the grounds of gender identity, gender expression, or gender “reassignment”. Implicit inclusion on the grounds of sex alone did not count.
Housing protections The presence of anti-discrimination laws and policies that protect transgender people within the housing sector. These must explicitly protect individuals on the grounds of gender identity, gender expression, or gender “reassignment”. Implicit inclusion on the grounds of sex alone did not count.