NEW DELHI: The Press Council of India issued guidelines for covering news related to the LGBTQ+ community asking journalists to avoid the word ‘eunuch’ or the phrase ‘sex-change surgery’ and opt for transgender woman and gender affirmative surgery respectively.

“Do not use transgenders in your article; ‘transgender’ is an adjective. Use transgender person, transwomen, transmen, and/or trans* persons,” the PCI guidelines said. The term “alleged” should not be used when describing LGBTQIA+ identities and relationships, it said.

The guidelines said not to focus on a transgender person’s previous gender identity by using phrases like “he was a she”, or “she was he” or their transitioning process or surgeries and to exercise caution when using the word ‘homosexual’.