France de-lists transgenderism as a mental illness

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

France has become the first country in the world to declassify transgenderism as a mental illness.

Health minister Roselyne Bachelot announced in May last year, before International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), that the country would move to de-list the condition as a mental illness.

A government decree on Wednesday confirmed the change.

Although France has made the move, the World Health Organisation and the American Psychiatric Association continue to list the condition as a mental illness, rather than a medical condition.

However, trans advocates hope this will encourage them to follow suit.

“France is the first country in the world that does not consider transexualism a mental illness,” Joël Bedos, the French representative of IDAHO, told AFP last week.

In December, the second International Experts’ Meeting on HIV Prevention for MSM, WSW [men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women] and Transgenders called for transgenderism to be classified as a medical disorder, to help trans people avoid the stigma of mental illness.

Medical opinion once held that homosexuality was a mental illness. It was removed from the list of mental disorders by the World Health Organisation in 1990.

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments