NEWS ITEM - Transsexual Stabbed Lover - Thursday, 25th October 2001 Leeds Crown Court has heard how a transsexual woman stabbed her lover after he beat and raped her. Sadie Burton stabbed Steven Jones in the chest and leg six times after he allegedly threatened to kill her. The attack occurred on 19 September last year.

Jones, who survived the attack after emergency surgery, said that the row began when he visited a gay bar. He told prosecutor Tom Bayliss that when he returned to Burton`s home, she was "cold and evil". Jones said: "When she turned from the sink and faced me I knew she had a knife behind her back. But she seemed very calm until she stabbed me then she went absolutely mad. She seemed to be enjoying it in a crazy kind of way. "I didn`t know what was happening, I just begged her to let the knife go. Then I managed to get into the living room and crash out on the floor."

Burton faces two charges of attempted murder or wounding with intent. She has pleaded not guilty to both. Under cross-examination by Burton`s barrister, Vera Baird QC, Jones admitted previous convictions for assault, threats to kill, attempted robbery, theft and handling stolen goods. In 1984 he was dishonourably discharged from the army for blowing up a caravan in which his then girlfriend had affairs with other men. Burton allegedly sent threatening letters to Jones, which he returned with phone calls describing her as "sick" and a "hermaphrodite". After the attack last year, Burton told police she armed herself to frighten Jones after he had raped her and threatened to kill her. She said that she stabbed him in self-defence. The jury heard a tape recording of the call she made to the emergency services. She said: "I`ve just killed someone, I`m so frightened. I`ve stabbed him with a knife." The case continues.

NEWS ITEM - Transsexual wins legal right to adopt her next-door neighbor's infant.

A drag queen from the south has been given permission to adopt a neighbor's baby boy, a first in the nation's judicial and social history.

After five months of waiting and struggling, a local transsexual woman was allowed Friday by the Chiayi District Court to become an adoptive parent to a six-month-old baby boy, marking a precedent in Taiwan legal history.

Chang Chia-ling, also known as "Chung Ling," was allowed to adopt the baby, whose parents have been unable to look after him since birth, on the grounds that she has sufficient family support to raise the child, according to sources from the Chiayi District Court.

Chang filed a request with the Chiayi District Court in May to adopt the baby, but the court did not respond favorably for several months, as court officials doubted her ability to take care of a child as she is a "show girl" with what the officials thought is an "odd" sexual history.

Chang makes her living as a drag show actress in southern Taiwan.

After reviewing all relevant papers and carrying out fact-finding visits to the child's biological mother's home, as well as to Chang's home, the judges gave the green light Friday to Chang's adoption petition.

In addition, the judges said, there is no mention in Taiwan's Civil Code of whether a transsexual can become an adoptive parent.

The child's birth mother is currently serving a jail term for drug abuse, while the father has been declared "unknown." The child had been looked after by his grandfather since the mother went to prison.

Chang is the neighbor of the child's grandfather and she developed a special fondness for the child as soon as she saw him. She then asked to take care of the child and the child's grandfather happily agreed.

Chang was thrilled by the judges final approval for the adoption.

"Now I'm the baby's mother and I am going to name him Chang Tah-wen," she said shortly after hearing of the court's decision.

She noted that ever since she was a child, she believed herself to be a female in a male's body and had always liked to wear his mother's dresses and play with dolls.

NEWS ITEM - BANGKOK, Thailand - An unwritten tolerance of transvestite students.

An unwritten tolerance of transvestite students at a major Thai teachers' college appears to signal a shift in government attitude on issues of sexuality. The Bangkok Post reported Friday that male transvestite students on the Suan Dusit campus of Rajabhat Institute are allowed to wear women's school uniforms to classes. The policy - which appears to vary among the institutes 36 campuses - is a major change from two years ago when the Education Ministry tried to ban gay students from the teachers' college altogether, saying homosexuals are poor role models for youngsters.

Sukhavich Rangsitpholter, who was education minister at the time, said gay men are "sick, both physically and mentally" and prone to becoming male prostitutes. About half of the estimated 50 transvestite students on the Suan Dusit campus, which is in Bangkok, wear the white blouse and dark skirt uniform of the school's female students. Almost all university students in Thailand are compelled by tradition and social pressure to wear uniforms. Several transvestite students at Suan Dusit interviewed by the Post said their cross-dressing had caused no problems. But Sevi Yenpiem, vice rector of the Suan Dusit school, told the ITV television network that the students are breaking the rules because, as males, they must dress in uniforms for males. What rules should apply to transsexuals who have had full or partial sex changes were not clear. Thais are generally very tolerant on issues of sexuality. Amusement is typically the strongest reaction to the everyday sight of men who walk, talk and dress like the most feminine of women.

NEWS ITEM - Canadian Human Rights Commission Rules Sex Change Ban Discriminatory

Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canadian Human Rights Commission ruled that the prison system's ban on sex-change surgery for inmates is discriminatory and should be reversed. The federal commission released it's conclusion, September 18, 2001, from a hearing into the case of Synthia Kavanagh, now serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, who was born male but identifies herself to be female. "The [Correctional Service of Canada] has failed to justify its blanket policy prohibiting inmate access to sex reassignment surgery," the tribunal panel ruled. The tribunal gave the service six months to draft a new policy, as well as new directions on better meeting the needs of transsexuals in jail. Sexual reassignment surgery is covered by medicare in all of the Canadian provinces, except Ontario.

The tribunal says Ms. Kavanagh was assessed and approved for surgery, but initially was unable to obtain it due to the service's policy. As a result, she filed complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and disability. Eventually, she underwent the surgery at her own expense and is now at Joliette Institution for Women, a medium-security institution. She won an exemption to prison policies because of a review of the policy.

NEWS ITEM - Transvestite's mother settles suit against D.C.

The mother of a transvestite who died when firefighters mocked him after an automobile accident agreed Thursday to settle a lawsuit against the District of Columbia. "No one should suffer because they are different from other people," said Margie Hunter, who will receive $1.75 million from the city. The settlement ends an ordeal that began when she learned her son was denied lifesaving treatment as firefighters stood by and laughed. "This has never been about money, but about finding justice for my son," Margie Hunter said.

A jury of six women and two men found in December 1998 that Tyrone "Tyra" Hunter was a victim of discrimination and medical malpractice. The panel also held a physician at D.C. General Hospital liable for failing to provide care that might have saved his life. The jury awarded Margie Hunter $2.9 million, but the city appealed the judgment, leading to Thursday's settlement. Hunter, 24, a hairstylist, was wearing women's clothing when the vehicle he was riding in crashed Aug. 7, 1995. When firefighter Adrian Williams slit open Hunter's pants to begin rendering medical aid, he discovered Hunter was male. Hunter's mother said Williams, who since has been promoted to the rank of sergeant, should have been fired for his insensitivity. She was also disappointed that Dr. Joseph A. Bastien, the D.C. General physician, still works in the emergency room there.

The jury found Bastien negligent for not ordering a tube inserted in Hunter's chest to drain fluid around his heart. He also failed to prescribe blood transfusions for his patient although four units of blood were available at the time. "Tyrone was never treated properly," said Richard Silber, one of the attorneys who represented Margie Hunter. Silber and two other attorneys involved in the case first sought $330,000 in legal fees. Mayor Anthony A. Williams issued a statement the discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation won't be tolerated. The D.C. Fire Department has launched a diversity and sensitivity training program for its employees. The program will be named for Tyrone Hunter.