The World Health Organization will no longer categorize transgender people as having a mental disorder, according to reports.
“Gender Identity Disorder” was removed from the organization’s classification of diseases as of last weekend and will now be referred to as “gender incongruence,” included in WHO’s section about sexual health,
“We had a better understanding that this was not actually a mental health condition and leaving it there was causing stigma,” a WHO reproductive expert said. The changes were announced at the WHO assembly Saturday,
The removal “will have a liberating effect on transgender people worldwide,” the LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch
In some countries, like Japan, a person must be diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder to be legally recognized as a different sex. Countries have until 2022 to conform to the WHO changes,