Celebrating Trans Day of Visibility

Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) takes place on 31st March each year to celebrate trans people and raise awareness of discrimination they still experience worldwide.

This year, we are highlighting statements shared by trans and non-binary people to draw attention to the critical need for legal gender recognition, one of the most important issues affecting trans rights and justice around the globe.

"Visibility for trans people is revolutionary, and yet it shouldn’t be. All that we are asking for is to live our lives, just like anybody else. And yet, we still have to fight for rights others take for granted - like having our gender reflected on identity documents without States imposing abusive requirements on us. ?

States are saying it clearly: legal gender recognition based on self-determination is important to safeguard people’s dignity and safety.?

Visibility is necessary, but it can also be dangerous. Our lives shouldn’t be on the line for simply claiming our right to exist. We ask everyone to see past the dangerous rhetoric targeting trans people, to see our humanity, and to walk through life together every day."?

“Heterosexual and patriarchal gender boxes are the main barrier for transgender and other queer and non-binary people. Every person should live their own choice with or without any surgical procedure.”?

"I am a trans-non-binary person, and I consider legal gender recognition based on self-identification critical to fighting medicalized binary models of sex and gender. Each trans person – binary or not – should be entitled to decide on the terms they want to transition and have their rights protected. The state must protect trans people from non-discrimination and violence, and gender markers are critical to fulfilling the human rights of trans people, including socio-economic rights that drive trans people into poverty in many parts of the world. Forcing someone to undergo medical interventions and to conform to the binary to claim their gender marker is a form of violence perpetrated by some states, as the principle of bodily autonomy and integrity is not respected."?

"There is power in knowing thyself in a world that continues to erase several forms of human diversity. As a transgender woman, self-recognition and legal protection are a right and a personal responsibility to my identity: I deserve equal treatment in society without discrimination. I challenge the various systems of oppression that are connected to the exclusion of the voiceless, and hope for social justice and change around the world. Transgender people exist and will continue to fight for their rights and freedoms".?

''I come from one of the few countries in the world that allow the change of gender markers based on self-identification and without imposing our community to undergo any sort of medical or psychological procedure. When Argentina passed the national gender identity law, it automatically meant a historical reparation for our community. To deny the bodily autonomy of trans people is to encourage violent and pathologizing practices.''

"I have fought for self-identification in legal gender recognition for more than 20 years by now. For me, self-id is not only a core feminist and human rights principle, but it is also an acknowledgement by the State that we exist and should enjoy the same rights as anyone. No State should withhold that from trans communities."

"It's not just my feeling that I am a trans woman, but it's my belief, and no one can deny the right to self-perceived gender identity. The lack of and denial of legal gender recognition in the world is a human rights violation and can cause huge damage to the transgender community."