Jump to content

incident with trans-woman at pearson airport


Recommended Posts

So this happened at pearson airport http://www.torontolife.com/informer/people/2014/02/11/avery-edison-toronto-airport/
despite Ontario's provincial laws against discriminating based on gender identity :(

they did move her later http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/11/transgender-woman-moved-to-ontario-female-correction-facility-after-internet-uproar/ but even so I already know a few trans* people who are now very afraid to fly in for world pride and probably simply won't come. Even if it's rare or a one-off it's one of those things where if you happen to be the one then it's absolute hell, I can both understand and respect their choice to opt out this year after this.

The eyes are on now to see on how this is handled legally, politically, if the airport formally apologizes, etc.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay she didn't follow Candian laws. It is the jobs of the Canadian immigrational office to detirmine if one are fit to enter Canada or not, and if they will leave or stay. And she bad overstayed previously. They only did their job, and it had nothing to do with her being transexual; she overstayed a previous visit.

The only ones who should be "afraid" of coming to Canada are those who don't follow Canadian rules of entry. If you're concerned about coming in a similar situation, more info of rule of entry to Canada and imadmissibility can actually be found here: http://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/97236-travel-masterpost-for-world-pride-2014/

So she wasn't treated differently because of her trans status, but she was treated equally to everyone who would not respect the Canadian laws.

And she state herself that it has nothing to do with her gender identity, and later it also says that she will be examinated to find out if she will be in a men's or women's jail..

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Ya, I read that article too. I don't think anyone coming to WP has to worry because the reason she was detained was because she overstayed her student visa which makes her inadmissible to canada. It had nothing to do with her gender identity and actually the security at Pearson did exactly what they were supposed to do. (i.e. they followed the letter of the law, I'm not commenting on how appropriate/fair that law may actually be). So yes, if someone is inadmissible to canada then I suggest you probably don't want to try to come for WP but these no reason to be nervous just because a person is trans*.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

According to the law in canada, in this situation the person being detained is taken to a prison based on their assigned sex at birth and kept in solitary at that prison, which is exactly what has occurred. And Edison herself stated in that same article that the reason she was being detained had nothing to do with her gender identity.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah we should really change that law about jailed according to birth gender then.

Even with their legitimate case about denying her entry they should, at very least, know to speak to her and about her using proper pronouns.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah we should really change that law about jailed according to birth gender then.

Even with their legitimate case about denying her entry they should, at very least, know to speak to her and about her using proper pronouns.

Well it might be difficult for them to understand which is the correct one and for all we know this was their first encounter with a trans*. Also she did get special treatment and was sent to a correctional facility for women, and even checked for it.

Anyway this only show how important WorldPride is, as we need to spread visibility about sexual (and gender) miniorities and educate others about it. So both individuals and the government will improve and get better understanding of this matter.

So it wasn't discrimination, only positve discrimination - as appereantly the law says that it is the assigned sex at birth that matter.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Lord Happy Toast

So it wasn't discrimination, only positve discrimination - as appereantly the law says that it is the assigned sex at birth that matter.

I haven't yet been able to identify the text of relevant law(s), but this page on the Ontario Human Rights Commissions's website says the following (I've bolded the parts most relevant to this case):

Sex Segregated Institutions: Corrections Facilities and Hospitals

Institutions such as hospitals and prisons usually have gender-segregated facilities and services. These pose special challenges in adapting and accommodating to the needs of transgendered individuals. Transgendered people may be placed with those of the sex with which they do not identify. In a recent criminal law decision, a judge recommended to prison authorities that the convict, a birth assigned male who was transitioning to a female, serve time in a woman’s prison.[66]

In correctional institutions, the sex segregation of facilities is a concern for transgendered inmates, particularly when the person is pre-operative male to female transsexual. The Ministry of Correctional Services has no written policy to address this type of situation. Pre-operative male to female transsexuals may be subject to solitary confinement not because they are a threat to others but for their own protection. While this is obviously a systemic disadvantage, it is not clear what the alternatives are available in light of some of the safety issues.

The standing practice appears to be to allow post-operative male to female transsexuals to stay in women’s correctional facilities, and in all other situations, to deal with transgendered individuals on a case by case basis. However, unless full sex reassignment surgery has been undertaken, the individual will be placed in a facility according to his or her birth-assigned gender in a segregated area.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I commend those who replied on this thread for actually reading the article and following up by reading the relevant statutes and regulations instead of just making political hay of the story. I also commend the subject of the story for herself making it clear that she was detained on grounds unrelated to her being trans. What happened next suggests that the law regarding where preop trans people are detained needs to be revisited and amended, but there is really no need for panic and button-pushing. People just need to READ THE WHOLE STORY instead of having emotional reactions based on a few isolated snippets taken out of context.

I recommend that any transgender activisits reading this thread fully inform themselves of the facts and then launch an information campaign within their home trans communities to make sure that any trans people who have been scared away from coming to world pride by an incomplete understanding of this incident, gain a complete understanding of it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest member25959

Yeah, I would recommend checking stuff like visa conditions and travel restrictions before traveling to any country, it's also a good idea to discuss this stuff with people who have traveled in the past. But I don't really know much about this story, that article is a little too vague holy shit those article comments

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't worry about going to WP unless you have some sort of reason you can't enter the country. They even said she could fly out if she could buy a ticket to leave the next day. The law needs to be updated, since a MTF should be in a women's facility, but the actual detaining was her own fault for overstaying her visa and then expecting to just enter the country with no problem.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sex specific facilities (bathrooms, prisons,etc) are just one of the issues society's gonna have to fix down the road in regards to trans. I don't think bathrooms are that big a deal because hey, use a stall, but you can avoid prison altogether by OBEYING the law.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 9 years later...

(Below is an official, green, mod message.)

 

Hi, everyone. This is an old thread.

So, it's being locked.

 

LeChat,

Welcome Lounge, Announcements, and Alternate Language moderator

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...