Covid-19 and the Transgender experience

By: Shraddha Dubey, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL

As the entire world struggled to sail through the tumultuous sea that is the outbreak of Covid-19, some were equipped with better boats for the journey than others. While governments all around the world have made their best efforts to prepare their citizens   to cope with the challenges of Covid-19, the measures undertaken often leave many individuals  asking for more. Some of these measures perhaps adopted with positive intentions have caused further hardships to certain sections of the society. This blog seeks to highlight some challenges faced by transgender individuals that have been created and further worsened by the Covid-19 outbreak.    

Gender Based Lockdown Measures

Many countries have adopted gender based measures to curtail the spread of Covid 19 which have given rise to numerous challenges. In Peru, gender based quarantine provisions were implemented. However, the provisions included a non-discriminatory clause and President Martin Viscarra gave statements declaring the measures to be trans-inclusive after incidents of harassment of on transgender individuals ensued. Eventually, these measures were removed for being ineffective. In Bogota, Colombia, gender based quarantine rules were in place from April 13th until May 11th, but they included trans-sensitive provisions and allow transgender people to comply with the rules according to their chosen gender identity. Following much criticism, the Mayor of Bogotá decided to instate measures based on the last digits of the ID number. 

Similarly, Panama implemented a gender-based quarantine schedule to curb the spread of Covid-19. This schedule requires men and women to remain quarantined on alternate days, disregarding the existence of transgender individuals. Numerous incidents of harassment of transgender individuals by police and security officers while accessing essential commodities have been reported. This discrimination was experienced irrespective of whether they adhered to the schedule based on the sex mentioned in their national identification cards or based on their chosen gender identity. These measures violate the human rights of transgender individuals including their right to identity and right to equal treatment. While governments are empowered to legally restrict some rights like that of freedom of movement in their response to the Covid-19 emergency, these restrictions must be consistent with fundamental principles of non-discrimination. After over a month of implementing the gender-based quarantine schedule, the Panama government expressed its commitment to prevent discrimination faced by transgender people. It gave instructions to security agencies to not discriminate against transgender people while enforcing Covid-19 restrictions. 

All the aforementioned policies of gender segregation disregard the existence of non-binary people who may experience hardships because they do not identify with either of the genders specified in the quarantine schedules. Above all, these gender based segregation rules inevitably reiterate biological determination of gender and sexuality and impose a binary notion of gender.

Use of Emergency Powers to Restrict Gender Recognition

Further away from Latin America, transgender individuals are facing other challenges in Hungary. The incumbent government in Hungary has successfully passed a law to end the legal recognition of transgender individuals by defining gender as ‘biological sex’. This makes it impossible for people to legally change their gender. Hungary’s action of adopting legislation that allows its Prime Minister to rule by decree indefinitely has been widely criticised. This is particularly so because the sitting Parliament is focusing on other issues like this new legislation instead of dealing with Covid-19. This law makes lives of transgender individuals prone to risk of discrimination, harassment and even violence during the time of the pandemic when they need to use identity documents on a regular basis to access essential services.

The bill stands in clear contravention to the European Convention of Human Rights. In its previous case laws, the European Court of Human Rights has held that gender identity is a basic element of self determination. It also declared that refusal to legally change an individual's gender identity could amount to discrimination and violate the right to respect for private lives’.

Exacerbation of Access to Healthcare Issues

Besides these unique experiences and challenges faced by transgender individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic in different parts of the world, a common struggle of the community is with regards to health care which has worsened during the pandemic.  Access to health care services by transgender individuals is often marred with legal obstacles, violence combined with social stigma and discrimination. This is often evidenced in reluctance of medical professional to engage with transgender individuals. This puts transgender individuals at a particularly higher risk of mortality due to difficulty in accessing treatment. The present circumstances have also resulted in poor rates of access to health care services related to HIV treatment.  The increased prevalence of HIV amongst transgender population with compromised access to healthcare, increases their vulnerability to the disease of Covid-19. Family rejection along with absence of employment and social protection further compounds the problem of their vulnerability to the disease. The lack of provisions to address these challenges violates the human rights of right to availability and accessibility to health care of transgender individuals.

In Egypt, this problem is likely to manifest itself by creating a situation where transgender individuals are too afraid to undertake treatment or seek HIV medication. In response to the spread of Covid-19, Egyption authorities designated the country’s fever hospitals as testing centres for Covid-19. These fever hospitals are the only centers where people living with HIV can get medication. Their designation as testing centres for Covid 19 may cause hardships to those in need for HIV medication, since they are afraid to go to hospitals for the fear of catching the disease. HIV patients have not been assigned alternate treatment centres. Additionally,  issues of gender identity may also cause difficulties for the transgender community in accessing Covid 19 relief measures due to the absence of official identity cards corresponding to the gender of their choice. 

Conclusion

As the world continues to cope with the unprecedented threats that Covid 19 brings, we are constantly reminded that the experience of the pandemic is not uniform for everyone. As demonstrated above, the experience is particularly difficult for transgender individuals who face increased discrimination and challenges to their existence due to the insufficiently designed measures adopted by government authorities. As the celebrations of the Pride month have come to an end amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, it will be interesting to see whether measures adopted to curtail the pandemic will be more mindful of the transgender experience.

The Effects of COVID-19 for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the European Union

By: Romy de Niet, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL

The global COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19) has disrupted the status quo in member states of the European Union (EU).  With a halt on public events, closed schools, and people working from home, the lives of many have changed in a short amount of time.   Refugees and asylum seekers are among the world’s most vulnerable populations, and are likely to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic. 

This blog post elaborates on the different ways EU member states deal with the COVID-19 crisis and the consequences for refugees and asylum seekers.  Discussed are the effects of the pandemic on the processing of asylum applications, the right to health, and rescue at sea.  The blog post further discusses how the practises of these states relate to international law.

Asylum Applications

An issue related to the pandemic, is that the review and processing of asylum applications are suspended or slowed down in most EU member States.  According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHR), suspending asylum applications has no basis in international law.  The suspension of asylum applications can have far-reaching consequences for asylum seekers infected with COVID-19, as health insurance is often only available to those in possession of residence permits.  The pandemic also caused the unavailability of other services to help refugees and asylum seekers, such as legal assistance, language courses, and employment help.  

States have responded to this issue in different ways. In Hungary, authorities claimed that there is a link between illegal migration and the surge in COVID-19 cases, as many of these migrants passed through Iran, where COVID-19 infection rates were high.  This caused an overall suspension of the admission of asylum applications.  In other EU member states, the general measures to curb the spread of the virus disrupted the way the processing of asylum applications normally work.  In the Netherlands, this meant that arriving asylum seekers were temporarily barred from claiming asylum, and pending procedures were suspended.  The asylum procedures are partially started up again through video interviews, but there is a significant backlog.  In Belgium, the virus caused such a delay in the asylum system that only a third of asylum requests were followed up on in April.  A completed registration entitles the applicant to food and shelter, leaving those waiting to hear back in a situation where they have to fend for themselves.  In Portugal, the processing of asylum applications was temporarily sped up, rather than slowed down, as all individuals with pending asylum applications were granted temporary residence permits, granting them the same rights as Portugese citizens. 

The Right to Health

Under international law, every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of healthcare, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. The primary duty to fulfill this right is on states.  Refugees and migrants are often more vulnerable to respiratory infections such as COVID-19. Due to crowded living conditions in reception centers and refugee camps, social distancing and frequent hand washing cannot be practiced.  Elevated levels of physical and mental stress, and a lack of food and clean water among groups of refugees and asylum seekers can cause compromised immune systems.

These groups often experience a myriad of barriers to access healthcare services, such as language barriers, an inability to travel to healthcare facilities, and financial burdens.  Furthermore, access to healthcare and health insurance is often restricted for persons without residence permits or citizenship. 

In several EU member states, initiatives were instated to ease  some of these barriers.  Portugal’s decision to temporarily grant asylum seekers and migrant workers residence permits also grants them citizens’ access to healthcare.   In Poland,  the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 are free of charge for every person, including those without health insurance.  However, Polish doctors are afraid there is a lack of awareness of this free treatment among migrants and asked the government to carry out an information campaign.  

Meanwhile, the Greek government has faced criticism from human rights organizations for placing refugee camps on lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading.  This left thousands of migrants unable to abide by the guidelines the Greek authorities set for damming the spread of the virus, and put them at an increased risk of contracting it.  Due to overcrowding, social distancing was not possible.  Furthermore, limited access to food,running water, and sufficient medical personnel  left refugees in the camps more vulnerable to contract the virus, and without access to medical treatment.  The Greek government has plans to move 2,400 of the most vulnerable individuals away from the island camps to the mainland. 

Rescue at Sea

Under international customary law, coastal states are obliged to rescue those in distress at sea and satisfy their primary needs and provide access to basic services.   Rescue at sea became an issue at the outer borders of the EU, as Italy and Malta closed their ports due to public health reasons, barring migrants attempting to reach Europe by boat.  Furthermore, travel restrictions and social distancing measures are halting non-governmental organizations from performing rescue missions at sea, leaving large groups of refugees stranded at sea in life-threatening situations.  

Conclusion

In the European Union, refugees and asylum seekers have been adversely affected by the pandemic and its implications in a number of ways.  These groups often do not have the capacity to adhere to social distancing, and experience several barriers to accessing healthcare services.  Furthermore, in most EU member states, asylum application reviews have been suspended or severely slowed down.  Coastal states have closed their ports, and sea rescue missions are halted, leaving groups of migrants attempting to enter the EU stranded at sea.  Member states of the EU have dealt with the effects of the global pandemic for refugees and asylum seekers in different ways.  In the future, it will be interesting to see how the measures taken by these states during the COVID-19 pandemic change when the pandemic ends, and state practises return to normalcy.