Transgendered people come from all walks of life, and are represented in every race, class, culture, and sexual orientation. ‘Gender identity disorders’ have been identified in children as young as 3 years of age and in adults as old as 70. There is no definitive statistical information that speaks to the prevalence of ‘gender identity disorder’ in the general population. The statistical information that does exist varies both in terms of numbers and the sub-groups that are identified.
In 1999, the OHRC took the position that the ground of sex under human rights law could be interpreted to include the right of transgender people to be free from discrimination and harassment.
In 2000, the OHRC released its ground breaking Policy on discrimination and harassment because of gender identity (the original version of this policy). The OHRC and others successfully litigated that policy over the years, with tribunals and courts recognizing more and more the human rights of trans people.
(1) The Ontario Human Rights Commission
The Ontario Human Rights Commission is a central figure in the advancement of human rights in Ontario. The Commission is currently developing, implementing and operationalising policies and procedures related to transgendered issues.
This section provides information on the demographics of survey respondents who took the racial profiling survey.
Table 11. Region where respondent lives
by first letter in respondent’s postal code
3.1. Pregnancy and intersecting Code grounds
Privacy and confidentiality
- Maximize privacy and confidentiality of any information related to a trans person’s gender identity, or to the extent the trans persons wishes. This includes information that directly or indirectly identifies that a person’s sex is different from their gender identity.
In July 2015, the OHRC intervened in a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Application concerning the treatment of trans persons in custody.
The framework for developing Commission policy in the area of gender identity is the Code, with the preamble being of particular importance:
Each individual’s experience of his or her family status is profoundly influenced by other aspects of their identify, such as gender, sexual orientation, age, race, marital status, or disability: this was a major theme of the submissions the Commission received. For example, the experience of an aging parent of a child with a disability will differ from that of an Aboriginal single mother in search of housing. A heterosexual married mother seeking career advancement will experience different barriers than a lesbian couple dealing with their children’s schooling.
From: Annual report 1999-2000