New Delhi-The National Crime Records Bureau recently released its annual crime report regarding different sections of the population. The crimes occurring across the states against people are categorically mentioned as per their gender and castes. However, for the NCRB, the third gender apparently does not exist, as the crimes against the queer community aren't recorded separately. They are included in either of the two lists: Male or Female.

This is not just a blow to the queer community but also an obstacle to the goal of equality. The Mooknayak talked to Gautam Ramchandra, who is a trans man and a social worker. He works around sexual and reproductive health and opened up about such data or the lack thereof and the impact they have on the community.

Gautam works with the trans community in and around Delhi. He said, “When they made the Transgender Protection Act in 2019, I thought it might bring some good changes. Even though I had concerns about the act and how it might make things harder for the government, I hoped it would lead to positive improvements. But my hope went down after I saw the recent NCRB report. It felt like the government still doesn't pay enough attention to the problems faced by transgender people.”

Gautam revealed that logically, it made no sense when the administration claims they do not have information about the community. He remarked, “If the government is running shelters, it means they have some information. If they can't figure out certain things, that's their problem. They should just admit they don't want to put in extra effort to change existing policies. Even just adding a couple of extra categories for gender would take some work.”

He went on to say, “Saying there's no data is not acceptable. In the social sector, without being part of the government, we've found a lot of information. During COVID, regular folks, not the government, collected data on trans persons. It's not that hard to do. Transgender certificates are being given out, Aadhar and passports are being updated, so how can the government say there's no data? Besides official data, various media outlets talk about the deaths of trans persons, giving more information.”

Gautam spoke for the whole community when he said, “Having no data is not our problem; it's more about the government not doing what it's supposed to. Some people in our community have certificates, but sadly, they have lost their lives. How can the government say they don't have information? It makes it seem like their plans are not working well.”

Expressing disappointment with the government and administration, Gautam said, “Many important people in the government don't really get what it's like or support transgender folks. They might do their jobs because they have to, but what they do often doesn't help us. The fact that there's not enough official information about who is transgender, especially because not everyone has a special certificate, is a big problem. Some people, even after changing, don't want to fit into certain boxes. Even though officials might say they don't have enough data, a quick online search shows how much trouble the transgender community faces. It's confusing to talk about 'crimes' without recognizing one of the groups that has a hard time.”

Dejected, the social worker communicated, “I couldn't live my life the way I wanted, so I hope others get the chance. I know it's tough dealing with society, and I try every day to overcome challenges. As a transgender person, I know my own experiences. When the government says they don't understand what we go through, it really hurts. We don't expect them to know everything, but they have talked with our community and set up shelters for us.”

Recent Steps for the Trans Community and their Ideological Negligence

Before the NALSA judgment, there was no way to have 'transgender' mentioned on one’s official documents. They either had to keep the gender marker assigned at birth or, if someone was fortunate and had influence in their area, authorities might change it from male to female (or vice versa).

Now, with the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, a District Magistrate is responsible for giving a Certificate of Identity, officially recognizing someone as transgender.

But according to a report by IndiaSpend published in 2022, "the Act states that a person recognized as transgender shall have a right to self-perceived gender identity and at the same time requires a transgender person to make an application to the District Magistrate for issuing a certificate of identity as a transgender person. The Act is self-contradictory and gives too much power to an entity to decide what a person's gender is.” At the very least, the act provided hope for a sense of visibility to the community.

The report also states that there were 9,064 requests to provide a transgender certificate and ID card, data from the National portal for transgender persons till 20th June 2022 but 1,995 (22%) are still waiting for a decision, and 1,164 (13%) have been declared 'not-eligible'. Among the pending applications, 331 (16.5%) have been waiting for 7-12 months, even though the law requires district authorities to issue transgender certificates and ID cards within 30 days of receiving an application.

This, in addition to the research done by various national and international developmental organizations prove that there is data. So the question that comes here is if the community is actually invisible to them for such a glaring oversight that unfortunately occurs annually.