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A new and worrying survey: 80% of Israelis will find it difficult to accept that their child is transgender

Barriers to the state, fear of access to medical treatment, poverty and prostitution.

These are just some of a long line of data found in a first-of-its-kind survey that examined the Israeli public's attitudes toward them.

In light of the survey, and in the shadow of Transgender Awareness Week, a debate will be held in the Knesset that will examine the needs and responses of the community

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• Transgender people

• Surveys

• discrimination

Sonia Gorodisky

Monday, 15 November 2021, 04:30

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In the video: Horowitz declares the implementation of measures that will facilitate the process of gender reassignment in Israel (Photo: Ministry of Health)

80% of the Israeli public indicate that it will be difficult or impossible for them to accept the fact that their child is transgender, according to a first-of-its-kind national survey that examined the Israeli public's attitudes toward the transgender community. Another worrying conclusion that emerges from the survey is that about half of the public believe that there are only two biological genders.

A survey conducted at the initiative of the Israel Institute for Gender and LGBT Studies in the LGBT Association, and the "Revealed for Trans Empowerment" project, show that one in six Israelis recognizes transgender people, and women tend to know more transgender people personally compared to men. It was also found that 80% of the public state that it was difficult or even impossible for them to accept the fact that their child would be transgender, while about half of the public believe that there are only two biological genders.

There is an optimistic trend in the employment market: about two-thirds of the public express openness about transferVow in the workplace and indicate that they will have no problem working with a transgender person at all.

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A gay couple attacked in Tiberias.

2020 (Photo: image processing, without)

According to findings and estimates, in the Israel of 2021 the transgender community still suffers exclusion from most areas of life - its people have difficulty finding work, receiving basic medical care, they encounter abusive treatment in public systems, and suffer from physical and verbal violence due to their different identities.

Some face abusive treatment within the family, and the economic situation of many of them is vulnerable compared to the general population.

It is estimated that only a quarter of the community works full time, and a high proportion of trans men and women engage in prostitution in order to survive.

This alarming situation is also reflected in high suicide rates in the trans community in Israel.

In the shadow of the conclusions and data, this week marks the Transgender Awareness Week around the world and in Israel, where a series of events, conferences and educational activities are held aimed at increasing public awareness of the transgender community and its challenges.

Attack on LGBT boys in Jaffa. August, 2020 (Photo: screenshot, -)

"The data we present to the public today is not encouraging at all. We demand that the relevant government and ministers identify and monitor gaps in government systems that harm women on the transgender spectrum," said Bar Owsker, CEO of the Transgender Empowerment Project. " Are acceptable in 2021. "

He added that the Gila Trans Empowerment Project has in recent years been promoting the only medical staff training project of its kind in the country, but the huge gaps exist in other areas such as employment.

We will expand our training system to workplaces in the private sector and to educational staffs in order to continue to improve the status of the transgender community in Israel. "

"Stop exclusion and hatred."

Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, June (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Following the alarming data emerging from the survey, MK Gabi Lasky (Meretz) and MK Naama Lazimi (Labor) will lead a special debate in the Knesset of Israel this coming Tuesday, which will examine the existing needs and responses of the transgender community. Representatives of the various government ministries, representatives of the proud community organizations and all the relevant parties were invited to the discussion.

"In honor of Trans Awareness Week, we will hold a discussion in the Gender Equality Committee, where I will demand the implementation of the conclusions of the report of the inter-ministerial team for the promotion of the trans population, headed by Dina Zilber," said MK Lasky. at him. They suffer from hatred and violence, social hardship and family exclusion that leave them far behind in terms of employment as well. State authorities pile up difficulties and do not recognize in depth the need to expand responses for this vulnerable community. As a society we must allow every person to live his life of his choice in an accessible and tailored way on the one hand and safe,Containing and equal on the other hand. "

Poverty, prostitution and a tedious process of getting approval for sex reassignment surgery

Aside from the social difficulty and violence, the transgender community encounters a long line of barriers in front of state institutions.

For example, in the community they say that it is very difficult to change the sex clause in the ID card and passport, and as a result they are forced to present an ID card in which the sex clause does not match their appearance, exposing them to abusive behavior in a variety of places. To the workplace until presenting an identity card at the entrance to the club.

And if that's not enough, the trans community is excluded from basic welfare services, with its people being referred when needed to only three "awnings" designed for the trans community.

Poverty and lack of employment opportunities coupled with the high costs of medical procedures lead in quite a few cases to the deterioration of community members into prostitution.

The Gender Adjustment Commission set up in the 1980s to provide state-subsidized surgeries has failed to change that.

A transgender person who comes to the committee encounters a tangle of bureaucracy, with the only place that deals with the issue being at Sheba-Tel Hashomer Hospital.

The procedure for obtaining approval for surgery for gender adjustment from the committee takes about a year, and due to insufficient allocation of resources by the state, the wait for surgery can also take five years.

This reality directs members of the trans community to expensive private surgeries whose prices start at NIS 150,000.

"Allow each person to live his life of his choice."

LGBT demonstration in Tel Aviv.

July, 2019 (Photo: Official Website, Boaz Efrat)

"These data are supposed to worry the decision-makers in the State of Israel who must act and now. It is time to stop the exclusion, discrimination and hatred that people face on the trans spectrum even today," said Ran Shalhabi, director general of the LGBT Association.

"We call for the full and thorough implementation of the conclusions of the inter-ministerial staff for the trans community: from training physicians and medical staff for community needs and proper treatment overall to a national program to encourage large employers in the economy to integrate community members into appropriate roles."

Moreover, the trans community reports that medical treatment is avoided both due to the fear of transphobia and the lack of appropriate training of medical staff.

As a result, only a few of the trans people go to a family doctor, and on the other hand, many referrals are made directly to the emergency rooms, as the medical condition worsens.

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