For trans and non-binary people, visibility without rights is not enough

Tuesday 31 March 2026

In a country where comprehensive sexuality education is still absent from most schools, where legal gender recognition requires long and medicalised judicial processes, and where access to healthcare services remains uneven across regions, visibility means increasing exposure – but also opening minds.

On the occasion of the International Transgender Day of Visibility, we recognise, celebrate, and reaffirm a fundamental truth: transgender and non-binary people exist, participate, and contribute to society – and their rights are not negotiable.

Invisibility leads to exclusion, isolation, and enforced silence; increasing visibility is essential.

An outdated legal framework in Italy

While social awareness is growing, so too is regulatory pressure. In December 2025, Bill No. 2575 on the “Appropriate prescription and use of medications for gender dysphoria” was introduced. Italy’s leading scientific organisations have warned that in its current form, the proposal risks undermining access to care for transgender and non-binary people, particularly for minors.

They highlight that the bill disregards established international and European guidelines and presents a partial comparison with Europe, referring only to countries that have introduced restrictions. It also raises concerns about delays in already regulated medical procedures, with concrete consequences for the psycho-physical wellbeing of those involved.

Access to healthcare for LGBTQIA+ people – regardless of age, and in full respect of the right to health and self-determination – must be guaranteed. When legislative proposals ignore these recommendations, visibility becomes even more urgent. Because this is not a matter of opinion, but of fundamental rights.

Celebrating trans visibility therefore means taking a stand. It means calling for legislation that recognises gender identity based on self-determination, without mandatory psychodiagnostic pathways and without requiring court involvement. It means demanding real protection from discrimination in employment, healthcare, education, and housing.

Comprehensive sexuality education as a key tool for visibility

How can we support the visibility of transgender and non-binary people? By staying informed, speaking out when we witness discrimination, supporting the community, and amplifying its voices without speaking over them. This is how we bring about deep cultural change in the way we understand bodies, gender, relationships, and mutual respect.

Recent research by Save the Children Italy shows that among adolescents (aged 12 to 18), more than half report that unwanted comments about their bodies, gender- or sexual orientation-based insults, and catcalling are “very or fairly widespread.” This is the climate in which younger generations are growing up: a context where stereotypes, double standards, and homo-lesbo-bi-transphobia intersect and become normalised. These phenomena do not emerge in a vacuum – they thrive where knowledge, awareness, and tools to understand diversity are lacking.

This is where comprehensive sexuality education can make a real difference. Not only because it provides accurate information, but because it is a practical tool to deconstruct stereotypes, prevent violence, and create spaces for listening and understanding from an early age. Working in classrooms means intervening before discrimination takes root.

To respond to this need, through Bottom-Up Talks we have launched peer-to-peer workshops for adolescents, alongside psychological support activities, contributing to the creation of safer spaces where identity, body, consent, and self-determination can be discussed openly, without prejudice and through a positive approach. Following the principles of the SexSense network, coordinated by CESIE ETS, we promote a feminist, intersectional, and non-binary approach, tailored to different learning stages and grounded in scientific evidence and human rights.

Comprehensive sexuality education cannot be optional: it is at the same time prevention, empowerment, and cultural transformation. This powerful tool for social change must be recognised and implemented as a real, accessible right for all.

Visibility saves lives: no one’s life should ever need to be justified or validated for being perceived as non-conforming. Only in this way can we break dominant narratives, dismantle stereotypes, and create spaces of possibility for those growing up today. At the same time, knowledge is both freedom and prevention. And when knowledge becomes accessible, it can give voice to those who have not had the privilege of being heard or represented.

Let us treat 31 March as a collective reminder: with the recognition of rights, meaningful change is possible.