A story I wrote for my Human Rights Journalism class:

Christina Ann Marie DiEdoard is a successful criminal defense attorney. She has represented countless clients, and argued cases before the Nevada Supreme Court. The 45-year-old is passionate about ensuring her clients get access to a fair hearing, no matter what crime they are charged with.

Living in San Francisco means that she doesn’t get to travel back to her native New York very often. She jokes that she lived there when the city was still dangerous. One thing that ties her to New York City is her birth certificate. It is a reminder of where she came from in more ways than one. This is because DiEdoard was born a man, and the gender marker on her birth certificate reflects this.

DiEdoard transitioned in 2005, in her last semester of law school. Not having a birth certificate that reflects her gender proved not to be a barrier for DiEdoard. She was able to obtain a drivers license and a passport, and become an attorney, but she knows that many transgender people are not so fortunate.

“I would like all my documents to be congruent,” she said. Describing the fear that comes from not having documents that reflect your gender, she said, “I think it’s true of most trans people. It always feels like I’m one twitch away from someone saying ‘no!’”

Legislation introduced to the New York City Council by Council Member Corey Johnson seeks to take away some of this fear, by allowing transgender people born in New York City to more easily change the gender on their birth certificates.

Currently, people born in New York City can only change the gender on their birth certificates if they can show that they have had gender reassignment surgery. The new legislation will take away surgery as a requirement for changing of gender, meaning that any trans individual can amend their birth certificate to reflect the gender that they identify with.

A transgender person will be able to change the gender on their birth certificate if they can provide an affidavit from a doctor, social worker, nurse, counsellor or other trained medical professional, that states that the transgender person’s gender is not reflected by their birth certificate.

“Having such a critical document that correctly reflects your gender identity is a basic human right that too many transgender people have been denied for far too long,” said Johnson, in a hearing on the legislation, which is currently before the Committee on Health.

Allison Steinberg, director of communications at Empire State Pride Agenda, an organization that has actively campaigned for the legislation, said that it was particularly meaningful to young people, who may need their birth certificate when signing up for university, or applying for a drivers licence or passport.

“It is a human rights issue,” she said, citing the case of a trans woman who has been unable to get a passport due the difference in the gender on her birth certificate and the gender that she identifies as. She also noted a case in Long Island, where a trans person was refused entry to a bar because their ID did not reflect their gender.

Describing the current requirement for transgender people to prove that they have had surgery as a “privacy violation“, she welcomed the change. “Now trans people can choose what to reveal about themselves and what to keep private,” she said.

Gender reassignment surgery is extremely costly and often not covered by health insurance. This means that many transgender people chosen not to have surgery. DiEdoardo is one of them. Speaking about the current New York City legislation, she said, “This particular law was introduced in the 60s, when they thought that surgery was easy and the only thing you needed to be transgender,” she said. “If you have this legislation in place, you’re essentially outing trans people every day.”

Being “outed” is something that DiEdoardo has experienced. She recounted her recent experience in applying for a Canadian passport, which she was eligible for as her mother is from there. As part of the application process, she was asked to present her birth certificate, in effect outing herself as a trans woman. “You could see they were going over it with a fine tooth comb,” she said.

“It can be really shocking, or even dangerous to be outed as trans,” said Greta Gustava Martela, a trans advocate. “I don’t think trans people should have to hide, but we need to be able to choose when to reveal our identity. The right to self identify is a human right.”

Statistics from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey show the extent of the dangers that Gustava Martela spoke of. According to the survey, “Forty percent of respondents who presented gender incongruent identification reported harassment and three percent reported being assaulted or attacked. Fifteen percent reported that they were asked to leave an establishment.”

These statistics ring true for trans activist Brooke Cerda. She argues that education is key to reducing violence and discrimination. “Teaching kids about the existence of transgender women is important,” she said. She described the proposed legislation as a “great thing”, but stressed that there is more to be done for the trans community. “We don’t have our own community center,” she said. “Until we get our own space cis people will make our decisions.”

DiEdoardo knows that changing the gender on her birth certificate will not impact her life dramatically. She describes herself as a “functioning citizen,” whose trans status does not define or restrict her.

But she said that if the legislation is passed by the City Council, she will change the gender on her birth certificate for “emotional and also for self-preservation reasons.” She said she wants to live without the fear of someone saying her documents are fraudulent.

“If the legislation goes through, it will allow trans people to live their lives unmolested,” she said.