Substance abuse as a way of life in marginalized gender identity disorder: a case report with review of Indian literature.

Persons suffering from gender identity disorder (GID) are often severely marginalized in India and mostly live outside the society as a part of a minority community called the Hijras. Although substance abuse is considered a way of life in them, such patients rarely seek treatment because of the stigma and fear of discrimination. We report a case of GID presenting to tertiary care centre for treatment of multiple substance use dependence (SUD). The case is the first to highlight the use and dependence of multiple substances in the Hijra community of India. Further, the case emphasizes that SUD treatment might be a worthwhile intervention to bring such marginalized population under treatment, when further complicated issues on gender identity can be addressed.