Chelsea Manning to begin treatment for gender-identity condition

The US Army will begin treatment for document leaker Chelsea Manning for her gender-identity condition.

Defense secretary Chuck Hagel has approved gender treatment for Private First Class Manning, who was formerly known as Bradley.

The move came after the bureau of prisons rejected the Army’s request to transfer her from a military facility.

Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified files to WikiLeaks.

The soldier has been diagnosed by military doctors with gender dysphoria, the sense of one’s gender being at odds with the sex assigned at birth.

Following her conviction in July 2013 on 20 charges in connection with the leaks of military and diplomatic documents, Pte Chelsea Manning requested treatment including hormone therapy, and to be allowed to live as a woman.

A lawyer for Chelsea Manning threatened in May to sue the Army if she was not given gender change therapy in military prison.

Nancy Hollander argued the military had an obligation to treat the soldier’s “transgender issues”, and she would not be safe if transferred to a civilian prison for treatment there.

In April, a judge granted the soldier’s petition to change her name legally from Bradley to Chelsea, and according to a court filing by Pte Manning’s legal team, a military doctor at Fort Leavenworth had approved a treatment plan by November 2013.

The US military is required to offer medical treatment to its soldiers, but Pentagon policy prohibits transgender people from serving openly in the military.

Chelsea Manning will not be discharged from the military until she has finished her prison term.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier the policy on transgender service members should be “continuously reviewed” but has not said whether he believes the policy should be overturned.

A previous study by the Palm Center estimated there were 15,000 transgender US military members and 130,000 veterans.