As people around the world don rainbow swag in celebration of International Pride, the World Health Organization (WHO) has come out with an announcement of its own.
For the first time since 1992, the organization issued a major revision to its international manual of diagnoses and, among other things, a major shift in the way transgender people are treated. The 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) reframes “gender identity disorder” as “gender incongruence”, moving it from a mental health disorder to an issue of sexual health. Codes issued by the ICD are used by countries to determine where to invest resources as well as how to set certain insurance billing standards.
The agency says there is now enough evidence suggesting that being transgender is not a mental disorder and classifying it as such can cause “enormous stigma” for those who identify themselves as transgender. The move will reduce stigma while also ensuring access remains for necessary health interventions.
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