THE STATE IS NOW FINANCING GENDER REASSIGNMENT PROCEDURES FOR TRANSGENDER PERSONS
Amendments to the national healthcare law entered into force today, which include, among others, sex reassignment therapy, the medical prodecure for confirming a gender for transgender people.DRŽAVA FINANSIRA RODNU KONFIRMACIJU TRANSRODNIH OSOBA
Danas su stupile na snagu izmjene Zakona o zdravstvenom osiguranju kojima se, između ostalog, omogućava trijadni proces rodne konfirmacije transrodnih osoba.
This particular change to the law represents a signficiant example in which Montenegro has demonstrated its committment to human rights and political equality.
Up until now, sex reassignment precudres were not covered by the universal healthcare system. The change in the law ensures that healthcare covers 80% of the three-step gender assignment procedure, which consists of: psychotherapy, hormone therapy, and the medical procedures in gender reassignment including changing genitalia. We expect that the Montenegrin Ministry of Heath will work closely with LGBT Forum Progres to more closely identify the criteria for determining medical justification for this procedure.
Inadequate services for transgender people can have drastic effects such as psychological defects, general disfunctionality in all aspects of society, severe depression, and in some extreme cases, suicide attempts and even death resulting from that.
The increased awareness of the needs LGBT community in Montenegrin society through its transparency and raised presence via the work of the LGBT Forum Progres demonstrates the organization’s role as a crucial player in increasing the rights and position of LGBT persons in the country.
The Parliament of the Council of Europe had previously called upon states to ensure proper access to necessary medical and other treatments for transgender people through their national healthcare policies.
Montenegro has made signficant progress when it comes to the rights of transgender people in a relatively short period of time. The level of progress has been so signficant that even countries with a longer democratic tradition would not necessarily match up with their own laws, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the development of human rights laws and standards as well as the sensitization of society towards this issue.
The LGBT Forum Progres would like to especially thank the profesional and ongoing work of: the journalist for the news show „Vijesti“ Tanja Pavićević, the special investigator for human rights violations Aleksandra Saše Zekovića, and the acting Ombudsman Marijana Laković. All three have greatly contributed their expertise int heir respective fields in order to raise awareness and knowledge of transgender issues in Montenegro, as well as provided the substantive knowledge that led to this significant change to the national law.
LGBT Forum Progres would also like to thank the Board of health, labor and aging in the Montenegrin Parilament, the office of the Ombudsman, the NGO sector, Montenegrin Prime Minister Dr. Igor Lukšić, and the Montenegrin Minister of Health Dr. Miodrag Radunović.
The final thanks goes out to the political party leaders, whose work actively led to concrete legal changes for transgender people following the campaign on this issue, which was led by LGBT Forum Progres since March 2011.
Ta činjenica predstavlja izuzetno važan događaj kojim je Crna Gora, i na ovaj način, potvrdila svoju privrženost ljudskim pravima i politici ravnopravnosti.
Do danas tretman promjene pola nije bio pokrivenim obaveznim zdrastvenim osiguranjem. Izmjenama zakona osiguranim osobama obezbijeđeno je, iz sredstava obaveznog zdravstvenog osiguranja, plaćanje 80 % troškova trostepenog (trijadnog) procesa rodne konfirmacije koji se sastoji iz psihoterapije, hormonskih tretmana estrogenom ili testosteronom, te operacije promjene pola koja uključuje izmjenu genitalija. Očekujemo da Ministarstvo zdravlja bliže kriterijume za utvrđivanje medicinskih razloga za promjenu pola definiše kroz blisku saradnju sa LGBT Forumom Progres.
Nepružanje adekvatnog tretmana transrodnim osobama dovodi do značajnih psiholoških poremećaja, disfunkcije, depresije, a kod pojedinih osoba kojima je uskraćena adekvatna medicinska njega i tretman može dovesti do suicidalnih poriva i smrti.
Unaprijeđena vidljivost LGBT zajednice i njena organizovanost u transparentnu i autentičnu grupu, LGBT Forum Progres, pokazuju se ključnim faktorom u uspješnom zastupanju javnih politika i poboljšanju prava i položaja LGBT osoba u Crnoj Gori.
Parlamentarna Skupština Savjeta Evrope pozvala je ranije države članice da osiguraju dostupnost tretmana promjene pola i jednaki tretman transrodnih osoba u okviru sistema zdravstvene zaštite.
Za relativno kratko vrijeme Crna Gora, kada je riječ o transrodnim osobama, postigla je izuzetan napredak i poboljšanje na kojem mogu pozavidjeti i države sa znatno dužom demokratskom tradicijom što govori o ozbiljnosti ljudskopravaškog pokreta i odgovornosti i senzibilitetu donosilaca odluka.
LGBT Forum Progres posebno ističe i pohvaljuje profesionalne i stručne napore preduzete minulih godina od strane novinarke dnevnika „Vijesti“ Tanje Pavićević, istraživača kršenja ljudskih prava mr Aleksandra Saše Zekovića i zamjenice Ombudsmana Marijane Laković koji su svojim istraživanjima, stručnim prilozima i preporukama doprinijeli boljem informisanju javnosti i donosilaca odluka o trasrodnosti u Crnoj Gori.
Povodom novousvojenih zakonskih rješenja za transrodne osobe LGBT Forum Progres uputio je čestitke i zahvalnost Odboru za zdravstvo, rad i socijalno staranje Skupštine Crne Gore, instituciji Ombudsmana, NVO sektoru, premijeru dr Igoru Lukšiću i ministru zdravlja dr Miodragu Radunoviću.
Zahvalnost je upućena i liderima političkih partija koje su aktivno doprinijele uspješnom završetku kampanje javnog zastupanja prava i interesa transrodnih osoba koju je LGBT Forum Progres vodio od marta prošle godine.
