“The fact that it’s listed alongside such serious mental illnesses is
also very upsetting to the trans community, and it could cause real tensions
if people are led to believe what the council appears to be saying.”

He told the Ham High
newspaper: “As of 2012, transsexualism and gender dysphoria are no
longer diagnosed as a mental illness. Defining it as such is completely
outdated and really quite offensive.”

Bosses at Camden Council said it had not sought to “cause offence”
and it was going to change the wording on the housing forms, changing “mental
illness to mental health condition”, and “transsexualism to gender
dysphoria”.

A spokesman said: “The council has not sought to cause offence, however,
gender identity disorders are classified by medical professionals within the
category of mental health and are diagnosed as such.

“We always seek to promote inclusion and equality across the community
regardless of race, religion, gender and sexuality.

“After speaking to our medical assessment officer we will be changing the
following terms on our forms; ‘mental illness’ to ‘mental health condition’,
and ‘transsexualism’ to ‘gender dysphoria’.”

A council source said: “It’s pretty embarrassing for a council, which is
normally LGBT-friendly, to make such an error simply because officers used
an out of date manual.

“It wasn’t long ago that being gay was considered a mental illness, but
times have moved on – it’s just that Camden Council’s library seems to have
remained in the dark ages.”