Trans*parent are the only group advocating for the rights of trans and gender non-conforming people in the Czech Republic. While there is a legal gender recognition procedure in place, the Czech Republic is one of the last European countries requiring surgical treatment and forced sterilisation before someone is allowed to legally change their gender. Same-sex unions are legal, but same-sex marriage is not (a bill to legalise it is currently under review), meaning that when a spouse is trans and seeks legal gender reassignment, couples must divorce. Trans people cannot have their preferred name on diplomas and academic certificates, access to hormone replacement therapy is out of reach due to cost, and there is poor mental health amongst the community. Trans*parent board member Lenka Králová talks to us about trans rights in the Czech Republic and the regions struggles with forced sterilisation.
Could you introduce yourself and the work of the organisation? Why were you established?
Hi, my name is Lenka Králová, and I’m a member of the board of the Trans*parent organisation. Trans*parent was mainly established to make the lives of trans people better in the Czech Republic. We organise support groups for trans people. We give them advice. We talk to the media. We are also very active on social media. We have research projects and we train psychologists and therapists to deal better with trans people. We mobilise the trans community. We also became a partner for the government organisations, and we are actively changing the public image of transgender people through the media.
“Trans people are people. We are just like everybody else. We just have some problems, some issues that the general public doesn’t have, but that’s about it.”
What are some of the major challenges that the trans community faces now within your context?
So trans people in the Czech Republic have two main problems. The first one is legislation. Czech Republic is one of the last countries in Europe which still requires forced sterilisation for legally changing your gender. And the second main issue is bad legislation and the way transgender people are treated by sexologists and doctors in general and how difficult it is to get proper treatment.
What does the future look like for trans rights in your region or globally?
We hope that the forced sterilisations will soon go away. We had elections in our country recently, but we still don’t know what the new parliament will be like and what the opinions of its members will be, so we have to wait for that. We also hope that access to medical treatment for trans people will get better, and the public opinion about trans people is getting better and better in time. I think there is a bright future in this field.
“Please raise the awareness, inform people, teach people about issues that we are facing because many people just don’t know the struggle that we go through.”
On trans awareness week, what is a central message you want the world and allies to know?
The central message that I would like to share is that trans people are people. We are just like everybody else. We just have some problems, some issues that the general public doesn’t have, but that’s about it.
How can allies best support the trans community?
We are people just as everybody else. If you are an ally, the best thing you can do for the individuals in your social group in your social bubble is to be good friends, be a good person, and help them with what they need. And in general, please raise the awareness, inform people, teach people about issues that we are facing because many people just don’t know the struggle that we go through.