“They Hunt Us Down for Fun”

Shakti

Life for transfolk in Kuwait
http://www.hrw.org/node/104172/section/8

Grim reading

A common complaint among transgender
women is police blackmail for sex on threat of arrest, an act that constitutes
sexual assault. Rima, 27, recounted a typical encounter:

In October 2009 I passed a checkpoint right outside my
university’s gate. I got scared of course and turned back, but the
policeman got suspicious. I stayed on campus for five hours until I was sure
that the checkpoint moved. The next day I saw the same checkpoint and the same
police officer. He found out which car was mine and as I was walking towards it
he stopped me and asked me for my ID. I gave it to him, and immediately the
sexual harassment started. He forced me to take off my top so he could see my
breasts, right in the middle of the parking lot. When I told him he had no
right to treat me like this, he said, “Either you take my number and meet
me for sex or I will take you to prison.” I had no choice. For the rest
of the time I was in college I had to keep seeing him.[52]

baby and crumble

God.

Davyhal

Read a few pages of that article. Truly powerful stuff. Would love to have the time to read it all. One suggestion, if they made kids read this in leaving cert, or 4th year maybe, it may change the views some of the young lads in our society have regarding trans, and on a lesser scale, homosexuality. I know there would be a bit of slagging and pig-headedness at the suggestion of it in the classroom, but it's articles like that one that really change someones perspective of things

Shakti

Having a Human Rights module in schools would please me very much Davyhal perhaps then in the future we wouldn't have to educate and inform our local politicians on the very basic standards of care and respect our diverse community of people deserve.
And right on! for the bump.

L.Jenkins

Reminds me. I see Vanessa Lacy of TENI has given a talk to a couple groups of secondary school students on trans issues.