Transsexuality was first dropped from the list of mental illnesses

Denmark is not the first country in the world to classify transsexuality as a mental illness
Denmark is the first country in the world where transsexualism is no longer classified as a mental illness. However, this does not change the hurdles that must be overcome before a sex change or hormone treatment.

Discriminatory classification abolished
According to estimates, around 170,000 people in Germany live with a transgender identity. However, because many of those affected live in anonymity, the number of unreported cases is probably much higher. Transsexuality is currently classified as a "Gender Identity Disorder" in the World Health Organization (WHO) International Diagnostic Catalog. But there has been criticism for a long time. In Denmark, the discriminatory classification has now been abolished.

In Denmark, transsexuality is no longer classified as a mental illness. It is the first country where the discriminatory classification has been abolished. (Image: Matthias Stolt / fotolia.com)

Transsexuality deleted from list of mental suffering
According to a news agency dpa, transsexuals in Denmark have not been classified as mentally ill since this year. The health authority therefore deleted transsexuality from January 1 from the list of mental suffering.

This classification was perceived by many transsexuals as discriminatory. As the Ministry of Health in Copenhagen explained, transsexualism in the system is now formally assigned to a different category.

No relief of treatment options
However, this does not change the treatment options for people who felt wrong in their body and would rather belong to the opposite sex.

Transsexuals say they have to undergo long, psychological examinations to undergo sex change or hormone treatment.

The symbolic decision was celebrated by the LGBT community ("LGBT" stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender) in Denmark. The head of the Danish LGBT national association, Soren Laursen, told the news agency Ritzau: "This removes the stigma that has been applied to transpersonal health."

The German self-help group Trans-Ident e.V. writes on their website: "This welcome rating finally ends the stigmatization that has happened with transgenders in the healthcare sector. Now sufferers are no longer labeled as mentally ill, but seen for what they are - a simple variation in the wide range of personal identities. (Ad)