14th International AIDS Conference Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. TuOrE1158)

Gupta A
Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit, Mumbai, India

ISSUES: Eunuchs are a community of transgender/transsexual people in India often thought of as a 'third sex'. Law is silent when it comes to recognising them as a 'third sex' - a popular demand made by the eunuch community.

DESCRIPTION: This paper highlights the implications of this denial. Indian administration requires people to identify, for every purpose of registration and enrollment, as male or female. No space for identification is provided for eunuchs who don't identify as male or female. This leads to complete isolation of eunuchs from the very fabric of the Indian society. They are highly discriminated in terms of access to education, employment and health care - a direct violation of fundamental rights. Eunuchs are forced into dancing, begging and prostitution as the only means of livelihood. They are denied sanitised and safe medical facilities for castration, as 'emasculation' is criminal under the Indian Penal Code. They are penalised as 'criminal tribes' under law and face regular harassment and abuse by the police under allegations of nuisance, soliciting and sex work. Their vulnerability has been enhanced by increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, due to unprotected sexual intercourse and their behavior driven underground - a direct consequence of these disparate circumstances.

ISSUES: The eunuch community enjoys a relatively high cultural acceptance in Indian society, which is yet to reflect in the law. Indian law continues to perpetrate prejudice against the eunuch community when it should serve as a means of protection and support. RECOMMENDATION: 'Sexual identity' is an essential component of human expression, and inherent in the fundamental right to freedom of expression guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. A vertical intervention (that trickles down from a legislative to an administrative level) of rights is necessary in recognising eunuchs as equal citizens of India.

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TuOrE1158

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