Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) issued First ‘Equal Opportunity Policy for Transgender Persons’ | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
News Today Logo

    Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) issued First ‘Equal Opportunity Policy for Transgender Persons’

    Posted 24 Feb 2024

    2 min read

    • Policy has been issued in pursuance of Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020.

     

    • Key highlights of the Policy
      • Scope: Applicable to all employees of MoSJE and its operations.
        • It will act as guiding document for business partner workforce, interns, trainees, etc.
      • Objective: To create an atmosphere ensuring fair treatment of transgender individuals, free from discrimination, harassment, and bias, while establishing robust grievance redress mechanism.
      • Policy Statements
        • Non-discrimination and enabling work environment: Prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in recruitment, appointment, promotion, etc.
        • Privacy and Confidentiality: Non-disclosure of gender identity without explicit consent.
        • Access to Facilities: Ensure infrastructure facilities (such as Unisex toilets) and amenities (such as hygiene products) are provided to transgender persons.
        • Grievance Redressal Mechanism: To redress instances of experienced discrimination or harassment based on gender identity.

     

    • Challenges faced by Transgender Persons: Social stigma and discrimination, sub-optimal access to basic amenities like healthcare, education, etc., vulnerable to physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, etc.

     

    Measures taken for Welfare and Empowerment of Transgender Persons

    • National Council for Transgender Persons: Established under Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
    • Government Initiatives
      • Garima Greh: Shelter Homes for Transgender Persons
      • National Portal for Transgender Persons: To obtain certificate of identity and identity card without any physical interface.
      • NALSA Judgment (2014): Transgender persons were legally recognised as the ‘third gender’.
    • Tags :
    • Transgender rights
    • Equal Opportunity Policy
    Watch News Today
    Subscribe for Premium Features