Social Entitlements for the Transgender Community
This report is part one of a two-part series studying the impact of data systems and digital technology on the lives of sexual minorities and sex workers. This project has been jointly conducted by CIS and Sangama.
Abstract
This report discusses access to social entitlements and sex reassignment surgery (SRS) among the transgender community in Kolar, Karnataka. We discuss the barriers to accessing gender-affirmative documentation, which in turn poses challenges to welfare entitlements and public healthcare. The data collection for the report was undertaken by union leaders affiliated with Sangama in the months of June to August 2018. The report seeks to demonstrate both the resilience of and discrimination against transgender peoples by individuals (family and friends) and access to health, legal, and social services. We conclude that the inability to exercise one’s rights is demonstrative of circuitous and exclusionary social systems.
The full report can be accessed here.