Judges first declared gender dysphoria does not counts as a disability under the ADA after the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia claimed it is “an identity disorder not resulting from physical impairments,” according to court filings. However, the appeals court changed that ruling in its Tuesday decision.
“Reflecting this shift in medical understanding, we and other courts have thus explained that a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, unlike that of ‘gender identity disorder,’ concerns itself primarily with distress and other disabling symptoms, rather than simply being transgender,” wrote Judge Diana Gribbon Motz in her opinion.
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The decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals suggests renewed descriptions from the American Psychological Association that were executed in 2013 in relation to mental disorders — creating a diagnosis for gender dysphoria that did not occur when the ADA was first passed. Under the revisioned rule, a gender dysphoria diagnosis includes the “clinically significant distress” one feels due to having a gender identity that does not align with their sex designated at birth.
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The ruling changes a lower court ruling made in 2020 after a transgender woman sued the aforesaid sheriff’s office for being put in a men’s facility. The inmate, Kesha Williams, who is biologically male, claimed the jail was liable for violating ADA protections by failing to treat gender dysphoria while Williams was incarcerated and for subsequent emotional distress.
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Williams sued the sheriff’s office in 2019 after being placed in a men’s facility despite taking hormone treatments for 15 years, according to court documents. As a result, Williams alleged delays in medical treatment for gender dysphoria, harassment by male inmates, and misgendering by prison deputies.
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Since prison officials delayed medical treatment for Williams, the jail caused the prisoner to suffer from “emotional, psychological, and physical distress,” Motz ruled.
“Williams does not merely allege that gender dysphoria may require physical treatment such as hormone therapy; she maintains that her gender dysphoria requires it,” the ruling states.
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The Department of Justice announced in September 2021 that it would initiate its policies' reviews for housing transgender inmates in the federal prison system after the Trump administration reverted several protections previously passed by former President Barack Obama. At the time, about 1,200 federal inmates, roughly 0.7%, identified as transgender, according to the Associated Press. As part of its review, the DOJ will evaluate how it can ensure the safety of all inmates while "providing gender-affirming housing where appropriate," a spokesperson told the outlet.
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