The pharmacy “Viola” conducted direct discrimination based on gender identity in access to healthcare. The applicant, A.J., a transgender woman, was discriminated against and her dignity was violated by a pharmacy employee, denying her equal access to healthcare because of her gender identity.
The employee of the pharmacy requested additional reports, in addition to the prescription for procurement of the medicine, and after receiving the additional document, she read private and personal information about the health condition of the applicant in the presence of other persons. In the end, the complainant received only 3 boxes of the requested medicine, although she had prescriptions for 5 boxes, after which she was expelled from the pharmacy.
The Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination requested a written opinion from the potential discriminator on the allegations in the complaint, but the opinion did not arrive within the legally prescribed deadline.
The behaviour of the pharmacist is assessed as direct discrimination defined in Article 6 and Article 8, paragraph 1 of the Law on Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination. It also constitutes a violation of Article 2 of the Rulebook on narrow conditions for the manner of prescribing, issuing, or selling drugs, and additionally, violation of the Code of Professional Ethical Duties and Rights of Pharmacists of Macedonia along with Article 4 and Article 9 of the Law on Healthcare.
The CPPD issued a recommendation to “Viola” pharmacies to provide unhindered and equal access to goods and services for the complainant, without harassment or discrimination. The second recommendation directed to the pharmacy “Viola” is to provide unimpeded access to goods and services in the future, to all transgender people. Additionally, the person in charge of the pharmacy needs to conduct training for raising awareness and sensibilization of its employees to work with marginalized groups of citizens, including transgender people.