Right to Privacy

Right to Privacy

Author: Ewan D.S. Wolff, PhD, DVM, DACVIM
Review: Mia Cary, DVM

From the GIBOR: “Just as other individuals have a right to privacy, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals have a right to privacy and should not be mandated to expose private medical information or any details regarding their lives, bodies, gender expression, and/or identity. Employers and colleagues should not discuss any medical information or details regarding these individuals with other employees, clients, etc.”

Importance

Privacy is very frequently paired with safety for gender diverse people. Many gender diverse people are out and perfectly safe being so. However, there are multiple layers of privacy that exist as referenced in the GIBOR statement above that if compromised may lead to very real personal hazards, inability to proceed through transition at a personal pace, risk to employment, decreased mental wellbeing, loss of personal relationships, declining mental health, and suicidal ideation. Since many gender diverse people have had to fight very hard to reach the point of being able to be themselves, a loss of privacy can cause very real damage. Furthermore, gender diverse people should be afforded the same privacy that is expected for their cis colleagues.

Historic Precedent

The major historic precedent around privacy of relevance comes primarily from the present historic moment. Currently violating the privacy of gender diverse people could lead to direct and focused persecution in many areas of the United States and the world. As in the past, being gender diverse means that there is often a consistent effort by others to prise out information about different aspects of life. This curiosity, whether innocent or not, has a similar detrimental effect.

Legal Precedent

Due to the current shifting landscape, please stay abreast of the latest information by engaging with organizations such as Transgender Law Center and independent journalists such as Erin Reed.

Impacts of Harm

If the gender diverse individual is not out, then disclosure of private information may constitute a form of doxing.
Regardless of whether an individual is out or not, compromising private information may decrease their sense of, or actual, safety.
Removing that safety may result in an individual leaving the situation they are in, and/or have a significant decrease to their mental health and wellbeing.
BIPOC transwomen are disproportionately affected by violence. Disclosure of private information may present an active risk of violence.

Individual Action

• Do not ask probing questions of gender diverse people regarding any aspect of their transition, identity, or anatomy. Respect them for who they are.
• If someone comes out to you as gender diverse, do not share this information with anyone else.
• If someone offers to tell you information about someone’s gender diverse identity that violates their privacy, explain to them why this is not appropriate.
• Educate yourself regarding gender diverse identity in order to be a better ally.
• If you are gender diverse, know and understand the rules that govern privacy in your school/workplace/organization and be willing to reach out for help if your privacy is violated.

Consequences of Violation

Please stay abreast of the latest information by engaging with organizations such as Transgender Law Center and independent journalists such as Erin Reed.