A decree signed by Dmitri Medvedev included a number of “personality disorders” on the driver’s license medical restriction in Russia. Transvestites and transgender, but also fetishists, exhibitionists and voyeurs driving “are dangerous.”
The government decree n. 1604 Dimitri Medvedev signed on December 29, 2014 goes under the title “List of medical contraindications for driving a vehicle.” Essentially, it extends the list of medical restrictions to obtaining a driver’s license and operating a vehicle in Russia. The list is long, and goes from epilepsy, to visual disturbances or mental disorders, but also kleptomania and pyromania. The decree refers directly to the ICD-10, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems compiled by the World Health Organization, WHO. Thus, the aseptic acronyms F60-F69 – under the heading “personality disorders” – recalls forms of “disorder of sexual identity” as transsexualism, transvestism, fetishism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, pedophilia and sadomasochism.
The associations for human rights say this measure is discriminatory, but the head of the Professional Drivers Union, Alexander Kotov, told the BBC that ” We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified.”
Trans driving, peril thriving
Russian roads are dangerous. With more than 27,000 deaths in 2013, is the developed country with the highest rate of road deaths, second to the United States. Authorities are committed for years to lower this figure of death, caused by several factors including the state of the road network and the widespread use of alcohol. The government has raised control and fines, and launched campaigns aimed to raise awareness about safety on the roads. The decree, which came into force last week, is also oriented in this direction. However, there is no evidence that these “disorders of sexual preference” have negative effects on the ability to drive, at least as they have none on the people who express them. Valery Yevtushenko, spokesman of the Association of Russian Psychiatrists, told the BBC that the measure is particularly serious because many people from now would avoid seeking “psychiatric help”, fearing a driving ban.
Nils Muiznieks, European Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote on his Facebook page: ” banning people from driving because of their gender identity is ridiculous and unlawful.”
Who discriminates whom?
According Muiznieks, “discriminating against people on these grounds is a violation of European human rights norms and risks exacerbating an already hostile climate against LGBT in Russia. “Even if the new ban does not seem to have openly discriminatory purpose – unlike other recent measures of the Kremlin against homosexuals – Muiznieks’ words are something more than a prophecy of an eternal pessimist. The decree does not mention gays and lesbians, and refers directly to the WHO index. The ICD-10 describes, for example, transvestitism as a gender identity disorder, something quite different from homosexuality. But you can bet that the difference, in a country where 35% of people consider homosexuality a disease, it will be grasped by very few. In addition, besides the fact that there are no valid reasons to unite transgender (as also fetishists or voyeur) to people with health conditions incompatible with driving such as epilepsy, there is reason to fear that the vague definitions of the decree can easily lead to a distorted application.
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A decree signed by Dmitri Medvedev included a number of “personality disorders” on the driver’s license medical restriction in Russia. Transvestites and transgender, but also fetishists, exhibitionists and voyeurs driving “are dangerous.”
