December 26, 2023
Some argue that promoting the protection of transgender individuals’ rights may threaten women’s safety. The following is the Japanese Communist Party position on gender identity:
Gender identity is related to individual dignity and should be respected as a fundamental human right. In October 2023, the Supreme Court’s Grand Bench ruled that a legal provision requiring surgery to remove reproductive capabilities in order to change transgender individuals’ legal gender on their official family registry is unconstitutional. Japanese society is changing to respect individuals’ gender identities.
However, if transgender individuals’ rights are established, men who identify themselves as female would use ladies’ toilets. The JCP considers this concern to be flawed and that it deeply hurts transgender people.
More than anyone else, they pay careful attention when using gender-segregated facilities such as toilets, locker rooms, and bathhouses in order not to offend or threaten other people there. It is necessary to discuss how public spaces, including bathrooms, should be designed so that transgender individuals can feel free to stay without worrying about discrimination or prejudice. Concern over whether they have male or female genitals or had surgery done as if they are a threat to the safety of others is blatant discrimination.
Some even say that men may pretend to be transgender women in order to come into women’s toilets for criminal purposes. Here, the one should be to blame is the person who commits the crime. To exclude their attributes as a whole is wrong.
It is necessary to distinguish people who intend to split the transgender rights movement by disseminating information which fuel prejudice and discrimination from people who are influenced by that information and feel anxious. To brand all those who are made to feel uneasy as “sexists” will not resolve any problems. It will only generate a backlash and lead to division.
It is a matter of course for women to feel a concern for their safety in public settings. Society-wide understanding of anxiety and fear about sexual violence as well as of the suffering and trauma from the past is important. Efforts should be made so that all women can feel secure and safe when using facilities such as public toilets.
A society without sexual assaults and crimes in which women can live with peace of mind should be established. A society without discrimination and exclusion in which all people with diverse sexual and gender identities can live with peace of mind should also be established. The former and the latter are complementary. The JCP continues to work for the establishment of both.
Past related article:
> Supreme Court rules surgery requirements for gender change as unconstitutional [October 26, 2023]
Gender identity is related to individual dignity and should be respected as a fundamental human right. In October 2023, the Supreme Court’s Grand Bench ruled that a legal provision requiring surgery to remove reproductive capabilities in order to change transgender individuals’ legal gender on their official family registry is unconstitutional. Japanese society is changing to respect individuals’ gender identities.
However, if transgender individuals’ rights are established, men who identify themselves as female would use ladies’ toilets. The JCP considers this concern to be flawed and that it deeply hurts transgender people.
More than anyone else, they pay careful attention when using gender-segregated facilities such as toilets, locker rooms, and bathhouses in order not to offend or threaten other people there. It is necessary to discuss how public spaces, including bathrooms, should be designed so that transgender individuals can feel free to stay without worrying about discrimination or prejudice. Concern over whether they have male or female genitals or had surgery done as if they are a threat to the safety of others is blatant discrimination.
Some even say that men may pretend to be transgender women in order to come into women’s toilets for criminal purposes. Here, the one should be to blame is the person who commits the crime. To exclude their attributes as a whole is wrong.
It is necessary to distinguish people who intend to split the transgender rights movement by disseminating information which fuel prejudice and discrimination from people who are influenced by that information and feel anxious. To brand all those who are made to feel uneasy as “sexists” will not resolve any problems. It will only generate a backlash and lead to division.
It is a matter of course for women to feel a concern for their safety in public settings. Society-wide understanding of anxiety and fear about sexual violence as well as of the suffering and trauma from the past is important. Efforts should be made so that all women can feel secure and safe when using facilities such as public toilets.
A society without sexual assaults and crimes in which women can live with peace of mind should be established. A society without discrimination and exclusion in which all people with diverse sexual and gender identities can live with peace of mind should also be established. The former and the latter are complementary. The JCP continues to work for the establishment of both.
Past related article:
> Supreme Court rules surgery requirements for gender change as unconstitutional [October 26, 2023]
