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In March 2021, the Welsh government's Independent LGBTQ+ Expert Panel called for the British government to reform the Act "in accordance with the
In March 2021, the Welsh government's Independent LGBTQ+ Expert Panel called for the British government to reform the Act "in accordance with the
principle of self-determination."<ref>https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultations/2021-07/recommendations-of-the-independent-lgbtq%2B-expert-panel_0.pdf</ref> Later in 2021, the Welsh government called for "devolution of as many aspects as possible of the Gender Recognition Act."<ref>https://gov.wales/the-welsh-government-announces-new-support-package-pride-part-ambitious-plans-make-wales-most-lgbtq</ref> In [[Scotland]], where legal gender recognition is devolved, {{as of|2021|8|lc=y|post=,}} the government was moving forward with self-identification legislation that would also reduce the minimum age for applicants from 18 to 16.<ref name="sundaytimes"/>
principle of self-determination."<ref>https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultations/2021-07/recommendations-of-the-independent-lgbtq%2B-expert-panel_0.pdf</ref> Later in 2021, the Welsh government called for "devolution of as many aspects as possible of the Gender Recognition Act."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gov.wales/the-welsh-government-announces-new-support-package-pride-part-ambitious-plans-make-wales-most-lgbtq|title=The Welsh Government announces new support package for Pride as part of ambitious plans to make Wales the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation Europe|website=GOV.WALES}}</ref> In [[Scotland]], where legal gender recognition is devolved, {{as of|2021|8|lc=y|post=,}} the government was moving forward with self-identification legislation that would also reduce the minimum age for applicants from 18 to 16.<ref name="sundaytimes"/>


Regarding the [[United Kingdom]] in general, the Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination argued that "anti-trans rhetoric" had "been gaining baseless and concerning credibility, at the expense of both trans people's civil liberties and women's and children's rights"<ref name="CoE 2021-09-21"/> and that "the '[[gender-critical]]' movement ... wrongly portrays trans rights as posing a particular threat to cisgender women and girls".<ref name="CoE 2021-09-21"/> In a 2018 public consultation,<ref name="CoE 2021-09-21"/> 64% of respondents said that there should not be a requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, 80% were in favour of removing the requirement for a medical report, and 77% were in favour of removing the requirement for people to evidence living "in their acquired gender for a period of time".<ref name="UK GRA consult 2020-09-22">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-the-gender-recognition-act-2004-consultation |title=Reform of the Gender Recognition Act — Analysis of consultation responses |first1=Daniel |last1=King |author2=Carrie Paechter |author3=Maranda Ridgway |publisher=[[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]] |date=22 September 2020 |access-date=21 October 2021 |id=CP&nbsp;294 |pages=8–9 }}</ref> Seven Scottish women's groups — [[Close the Gap (Scotland)|Close the Gap]], [[Engender]], [[Equate Scotland]], [[Rape Crisis Scotland]], [[Scottish Women's Aid]], [[Women 50:50]], and Zero Tolerance — released a joint statement during the Scottish GRA consultations endorsing the proposed reforms.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://equalrecognition.scot/supporters/joint-statement-support/ |title=Joint statement by national feminist orgs in support of the Equal Recognition Campaign and reform of the Gender Recognition Act |publisher=Equal Recognition Campaign |date=2019 |access-date=26 October 2016 }}</ref> In 2020, [[Human Rights Watch]] called for the British government to "uphold the United Kingdom’s human rights obligations by reforming the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) to allow for self-identification and recognition of transgender and non-binary people."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/17/letter-uk-prime-minister-gender-recognition-reform|title=Letter to UK Prime Minister on Gender Recognition Reform|date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>
Regarding the [[United Kingdom]] in general, the Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination argued that "anti-trans rhetoric" had "been gaining baseless and concerning credibility, at the expense of both trans people's civil liberties and women's and children's rights"<ref name="CoE 2021-09-21"/> and that "the '[[gender-critical]]' movement ... wrongly portrays trans rights as posing a particular threat to cisgender women and girls".<ref name="CoE 2021-09-21"/> In a 2018 public consultation,<ref name="CoE 2021-09-21"/> 64% of respondents said that there should not be a requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, 80% were in favour of removing the requirement for a medical report, and 77% were in favour of removing the requirement for people to evidence living "in their acquired gender for a period of time".<ref name="UK GRA consult 2020-09-22">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-the-gender-recognition-act-2004-consultation |title=Reform of the Gender Recognition Act — Analysis of consultation responses |first1=Daniel |last1=King |author2=Carrie Paechter |author3=Maranda Ridgway |publisher=[[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]] |date=22 September 2020 |access-date=21 October 2021 |id=CP&nbsp;294 |pages=8–9 }}</ref> Seven Scottish women's groups — [[Close the Gap (Scotland)|Close the Gap]], [[Engender]], [[Equate Scotland]], [[Rape Crisis Scotland]], [[Scottish Women's Aid]], [[Women 50:50]], and Zero Tolerance — released a joint statement during the Scottish GRA consultations endorsing the proposed reforms.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://equalrecognition.scot/supporters/joint-statement-support/ |title=Joint statement by national feminist orgs in support of the Equal Recognition Campaign and reform of the Gender Recognition Act |publisher=Equal Recognition Campaign |date=2019 |access-date=26 October 2016 }}</ref> In 2020, [[Human Rights Watch]] called for the British government to "uphold the United Kingdom’s human rights obligations by reforming the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) to allow for self-identification and recognition of transgender and non-binary people."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/17/letter-uk-prime-minister-gender-recognition-reform|title=Letter to UK Prime Minister on Gender Recognition Reform|date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>
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== Academic research ==
== Academic research ==
A 2020 paper in the [[Modern Law Review]] about the proposed reforms to the UK's Gender Recognition act argued that the reforms would not erode the existing exemptions in the 2010 Equality Act permitting a reliance on sex instead of gender identity, and that, based on existing research, they would "not lead to a significant increase in harms to non-trans women."<ref>https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2230.12507</ref> A 2017 paper from Peter Dunne of Trinity College Dublin said that "there is also little (if any) support for the idea that trans protections facilitate cisgender predators who feign a trans identity to perpetrate assaults in women-only space. In reality, concerns over the supposed threat of trans identities often reveal lingering anti-trans prejudice, reproducing historic tropes about the ‘deviant’, ‘deceptive’ or ‘unstable’ trans individual."<ref>https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0964663917692027</ref> A 2018 study, from the [[Williams Institute]] in the United Sates, found that passing non-discrimination laws based on self-declared gender identity "is not related to the number or frequency of criminal incidents" in public spaces such as toilets and changing rooms and that "fears of increased safety and privacy violations as a result of nondiscrimination laws are not empirically grounded."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hasenbush|first1=Amira|last2=Flores|first2=Andrew R.|last3=Herman|first3=Jody L.|date=2019-03-01|title=Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations: a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4rs4n6h0|url-status=live|journal=Sexuality Research and Social Policy|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=70–83|doi=10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z|issn=1553-6610|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830064732/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4rs4n6h0|archive-date=30 August 2020|access-date=31 August 2020|s2cid=149893864}}</ref>
A 2020 paper in the [[Modern Law Review]] about the proposed reforms to the UK's Gender Recognition act argued that the reforms would not erode the existing exemptions in the 2010 Equality Act permitting a reliance on sex instead of gender identity, and that, based on existing research, they would "not lead to a significant increase in harms to non-trans women."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2230.12507|title=Will Gender Self-Declaration Undermine Women's Rights and Lead to an Increase in Harms?|first=Alex|last=Sharpe|date=November 3, 2020|journal=The Modern Law Review|volume=83|issue=3|pages=539–557|via=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1111/1468-2230.12507}}</ref> A 2017 paper from Peter Dunne of Trinity College Dublin said that "there is also little (if any) support for the idea that trans protections facilitate cisgender predators who feign a trans identity to perpetrate assaults in women-only space. In reality, concerns over the supposed threat of trans identities often reveal lingering anti-trans prejudice, reproducing historic tropes about the ‘deviant’, ‘deceptive’ or ‘unstable’ trans individual."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663917692027|title=(Trans)Forming Single-Gender Services and Communal Accommodations|first=Peter|last=Dunne|date=October 1, 2017|journal=Social & Legal Studies|volume=26|issue=5|pages=537–561|via=SAGE Journals|doi=10.1177/0964663917692027}}</ref> A 2018 study, from the [[Williams Institute]] in the United Sates, found that passing non-discrimination laws based on self-declared gender identity "is not related to the number or frequency of criminal incidents" in public spaces such as toilets and changing rooms and that "fears of increased safety and privacy violations as a result of nondiscrimination laws are not empirically grounded."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hasenbush|first1=Amira|last2=Flores|first2=Andrew R.|last3=Herman|first3=Jody L.|date=2019-03-01|title=Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations: a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4rs4n6h0|url-status=live|journal=Sexuality Research and Social Policy|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=70–83|doi=10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z|issn=1553-6610|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830064732/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4rs4n6h0|archive-date=30 August 2020|access-date=31 August 2020|s2cid=149893864}}</ref>


A 2020 study from the University of Bristol found that "being able to change gender legally without having to rely on medical diagnosis and treatment would make older age a much more positive experience for many trans individuals seeking to transition in later life."<ref>https://policystudies.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2020/07/10/the-importance-of-self-identification-for-trans-older-adults-in-the-uk/</ref>
A 2020 study from the University of Bristol found that "being able to change gender legally without having to rely on medical diagnosis and treatment would make older age a much more positive experience for many trans individuals seeking to transition in later life."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://policystudies.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2020/07/10/the-importance-of-self-identification-for-trans-older-adults-in-the-uk/|title=The importance of self-identification for trans older adults in the UK – Comment and analysis|website=policystudies.blogs.bristol.ac.uk}}</ref>


Several researchers have also found that self-identification laws will not necessarily address all issues faced by trans people, especially if such laws restrict legal gender to a binary.<ref>https://cogentoa.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08989575.2019.1542822</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alm |first1=Erika |last2=Engebretsen |first2=Elisabeth L. |title=Gender Self-identification |journal=Lambda Nordica |date=15 June 2020 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=48–56 |doi=10.34041/ln.v25.613 |s2cid=225712334 }}</ref><ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31706402/</ref><ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10978-021-09286-y</ref> A 2018 article from Chris Dietz of the [[University of Leeds]] on the legal gender recognition system in Denmark found that "recognition may be practically inaccessible in the absence of corresponding health care provision" and that "positivity around the law was mitigated by contemporaneous reforms taking place in the Danish health care system" which had the effect of certifying "a de facto monopoly for authorising [trans healthcare] treatments at the Sexological Clinic (Sexologisk Klinik) of the National Hospital (Rigshospitalet) in Copenhagen".<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10691-018-9373-4</ref>
Several researchers have also found that self-identification laws will not necessarily address all issues faced by trans people, especially if such laws restrict legal gender to a binary.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://cogentoa.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08989575.2019.1542822|title=Examining Trans Narratives in the Wake of Norway’s Gender Recognition Law|first=france rose|last=hartline|date=January 2, 2019|journal=a/b: Auto/Biography Studies|volume=34|issue=1|pages=67–87|via=cogentoa.tandfonline.com (Atypon)|doi=10.1080/08989575.2019.1542822}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alm |first1=Erika |last2=Engebretsen |first2=Elisabeth L. |title=Gender Self-identification |journal=Lambda Nordica |date=15 June 2020 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=48–56 |doi=10.34041/ln.v25.613 |s2cid=225712334 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31706402/|title='#WontBeErased': The effects of (de)pathologisation and (de)medicalisation on the legal capacity of trans* persons|first=Pieter|last=Cannoot|date=September 3, 2019|journal=International Journal of Law and Psychiatry|volume=66|pages=101478|via=PubMed|doi=10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.101478|pmid=31706402}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10978-021-09286-y|title=A Critique of the Model of Gender Recognition and the Limits of Self-Declaration for Non-Binary Trans Individuals|first=Caterina|last=Nirta|date=July 1, 2021|journal=Law and Critique|volume=32|issue=2|pages=217–233|via=Springer Link|doi=10.1007/s10978-021-09286-y}}</ref> A 2018 article from Chris Dietz of the [[University of Leeds]] on the legal gender recognition system in Denmark found that "recognition may be practically inaccessible in the absence of corresponding health care provision" and that "positivity around the law was mitigated by contemporaneous reforms taking place in the Danish health care system" which had the effect of certifying "a de facto monopoly for authorising [trans healthcare] treatments at the Sexological Clinic (Sexologisk Klinik) of the National Hospital (Rigshospitalet) in Copenhagen".<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-018-9373-4|title=Governing Legal Embodiment: On the Limits of Self-Declaration|first=Chris|last=Dietz|date=July 1, 2018|journal=Feminist Legal Studies|volume=26|issue=2|pages=185–204|via=Springer Link|doi=10.1007/s10691-018-9373-4}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 15:01, 3 November 2021

Countries recognising gender self-identification; sub-national entities are not marked

Gender self-identification is the concept that a person's legal sex or gender should be determined by their gender identity without any medical requirements, such as via statutory declaration.[1][2][3][4]

It is a major goal of the transgender rights movement.[1][2][3][5] Advocates of self-identification say that medical requirements could force trans people into undergoing surgery, are intrusive and humiliating gatekeeping, and that self-identification would make it easier for transgender people to live day-to-day without prejudice. Advocates also argue that there is no evidence that such laws have caused problems in countries where they have been introduced, such as in Ireland, where it was introduced in 2015.[2][6] Self-identification is opposed by some feminists,[2][3][5][7] who consider safety in places like refuges and prisons, and fairness in sports, to be adversely affected,[5][8][9] a position rejected by the UN's Independent Expert.[10] Opponents also consider affirmation of self-identification in children with gender dysphoria to set them on a path of medical gender transition.[2][9]

As of July 2021, gender self-identification is part of the law in fifteen countries, including Brazil, India, France, Ireland, 5 other countries in the European Union and several jurisdictions in Latin America. Proposals to introduce it have proved controversial in some countries, such as Spain and the United Kingdom.[3] Within countries organised as federations, such as Canada and Mexico, legal gender recognition may principally fall under sub-national jurisdiction, and so may vary from province to province. Within a single jurisdiction, legal gender recognition procedures can be different for different documents, such as birth certificates or passports, and is not always the sole determinant of gender recognition in day-to-day life, such as in healthcare, access to facilities, or in personal relations.

Positions of international bodies

The Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination says gender self-identification is part of "international human rights standards with respect to the rights of trans people".[11] In April 2015, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 2048 (2015), within which "the Assembly calls on Member States to ... develop quick, transparent and accessible procedures, based on self-determination ... available for all people who seek to use them, irrespective of age, medical status, financial situation or police record".[12] In 2015, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that "abusive requirements as a precondition of recognition — for example, by requiring ... forced gender reassignment and other medical procedures" are "in violation of international human rights standards"[13] and in 2018, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the United Nations Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, stated that "the right to self-determine one's gender was a fundamental part of a person's freedom and a cornerstone of the person’s identity"[14] and that states' obligations included "adopting legal measures such as being based on self-determination [and] ensuring that minors have access to recognition of their gender identity".[14]

Around the world

The Americas

Countries in the Americas recognising gender self-identification; sub-national entities are not marked

In the United States, in June 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that passports would be moving to a system of gender self-identification.[15]

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay also have self-identification, as does Mexico City.[3]

Argentina

In 2012, the Ley de Género made Argentina the "only country that allows people to change their gender identities without facing barriers such as hormone therapy, surgery or psychiatric diagnosis that labels them as having an abnormality".[16] In 2015, the World Health Organization cited Argentina as an exemplary country for providing transgender rights.[17]

Canada

As Canada is a federation, legal gender recognition procedures vary from province to province. At the federal level, Canadians can apply to have the gender marker on their passports changed via self-identification.[18]

In 2017, Newfoundland and Labrador abolished the medial letter requirement, moving a self-declaration process.[19] In 2018, Alberta changed its legal gender recognition laws to allow people to self-declare their legal gender through an affidavit, eliminating the requirement for a letter from a psychiatrist.[20][21] In 2019, Nova Scotia moved to an affidavit process, eliminating the medical letter requirement.[22] In Québec, the legal recognition process has worked on an affidavit process since 2015, however, the Coalition Avenir Québec government in 2021 introduced Bill 2, which would re-introduce a requirement for surgical procedures.[23][24]

There still remains barriers to legal gender recognition for people born outside of Canada. As of October 2021, half of the provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and Saskatchewan), and all territories, do not offer anyone not born there the ability to change their legal gender. In November 2020, refugee claimants became able to change their legal gender federally.[25] In March 2021, temporary residents were afforded the same right (without requiring a change to their passport).[26]

Mexico

As Mexico is a federation, legal gender recognition procedures vary from state to state.

On 13 November 2014, the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City unanimously (46-0) approved a gender identity law. The law makes it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender.[27] Under the new law, they simply have to notify the Civil Registry that they wish to change the gender information on their birth certificates. Sex reassignment surgery, psychological therapies or any other type of diagnosis are no longer required. The law took effect in early 2015.[28] As of October 2020, thirteen states have followed suit:[29][30] Michoacán (2017),[31] Nayarit (2017),[32] Coahuila (2018),[33] Hidalgo (2019),[34] San Luis Potosí (2019),[35] Colima (2019),[36] Baja California (2019),[37][38] Oaxaca (2019),[39] Tlaxcala (2019),[40] Chihuahua (2019),[41] Sonora (2020),[42] Jalisco (2020),[43] Quintana Roo (2020),[44] Puebla (2021),[45] Baja California Sur (2021)[46] and the State of Mexico (2021).[47]

Asia

In India, the Supreme Court affirmed the right to self-determination in two 2014 cases.[48][49][13]

Europe

Countries in Europe recognising gender self-identification; sub-national entities are not marked

The Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination's 2021 report "Combating rising hate against LGBTI people in Europe" stated that the state of emergency in Hungary had effectively introduced a complete ban on obtaining documents reflecting the gender of trans and intersex people.[11] The report also said that "commitments to simplify access to legal gender recognition .. have not been followed through in countries such as Cyprus, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom"[11] and that efforts had stalled "in countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Serbia and Turkey as well as in Northern Ireland.[11] In 2014, Amnesty International stated that "many transgender people in Europe continue to struggle to have their gender legally recognised" and that trans people "should be able to obtain legal gender recognition through quick, accessible and transparent procedures and in accordance with their own perceptions of gender identity."[50] Ireland introduced self-identification in 2015, and France in 2016.[2] Denmark has self-identification, and requires a six-month "reflection period" before the change of gender can be formalised.[3] Greece,[3] Iceland,[51][52] Luxembourg, Malta, Norway and Portugal also have self-identification.[3]

Belgium

In 2017, the Belgian federal parliament passed a law allowing people to change their legal gender via statutory declaration, without any medical intervention being required.[53] To do so, a person must first sign a statutory declaration in front of a civil officer and then wait three months before second statutory declaration confirming the change.[54]

Germany

In June 2021, Germany's parliament voted down two self-identification bills. One of the bills also permitted sex reassignment surgery on children starting at age 14 regardless of parental objection and would have introduced a fine of €2,500 for misgendering.[2]

Ireland

On 15 July 2015, the Oireachtas passed the Gender Recognition Act of 2015 which permits an Irish citizen to change his or her gender on government documents through self-determination. The law does not require any medical intervention by the applicant nor an assessment by the state.[55] Such changes are possible through self-determination for any person aged 18 or over who is ordinarily resident in Ireland and/or registered on Irish registers of birth or adoption. Persons aged 16 to 18 years must secure a court order to exempt them from the normal requirement to be at least 18.[56]

In late-January 2018, over 1000 Irish feminists, including several groups such as the University College Dublin Centre of Gender, Feminisms & Sexualities, signed an open letter condemning a planned meeting in Ireland on UK Gender Recognition Act reforms organised by a British group opposing the reforms.[57] The letter stated that "Trans people and particularly trans women are an inextricable part of our feminist community" and accused the British group of colonialism.[58]

Nordic countries

In June 2014, the Danish Parliament voted 59–52 to remove the requirement of a mental disorder diagnosis and surgery with irreversible sterilization during the process of a legal sex change.[59] Since 1 September 2014, Danes over 18 years of age who wish to apply for a legal sex change can do so by stating that they want to change their documentation, followed by a six-month-long "reflection period" to confirm the request.[60][61]

On 18 March 2016, the Solberg Government introduced a bill to allow legal gender changes without any form of psychiatric or psychological evaluation, diagnosis or any kind of medical intervention, by people aged at least 16. Minors aged between 6 and 16 may transition with parental consent.[62][63][64] The bill was approved by a vote of 79–13 by Parliament on 6 June.[65][66] It was promulgated on 17 June and took effect on 1 July 2016.[64][67]

In 2019, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir proposed a bill to introduce gender recognition via statutory declaration in the country. The bill was passed by the Althing by a vote of 45–0, with three abstentions.[51][52]

In 2015, the Löfven Government in Sweden introduced a bill allowing legal gender change without any form of psychiatric or psychological evaluation as well as removing the requirement of a diagnosis or any kind of medical intervention.[68] As of October 2021, the bills are still in an early draft form.[69]

Spain

In Spain, as of June 2021, a draft bill for gender self-identification was moving forward, as a part of a political agreement between the Socialist Party and its junior coalition partner Unidas Podemos.[7] It sets a minimum age of 14, though those 14 through 16 need parental approval.[7] Debated in parliament after a hunger strike by 70 trans activists and parents of trans children,[11] a previous bill giving children total freedom of legal gender recognition had been rejected in May.[7] According to the Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, "98% of responses to a public consultation" were in favor of the changes.[11] LGBTQ+ campaigners criticized the new bill for having age limits and for not having provision for non-Spanish residents and non-binary identities. A collective of about 50 feminist groups opposed the bill, concerned about "protection of the specific rights against gender-based oppression".[7] The Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination spoke of "extremely hostile anti-trans discourse .. from the highest political levels" and said that "trans-specific and non-binary organisations [had been] excluded from political discussions".[11]

United Kingdom

In Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland),[70] the Equality Act 2010 effectively provides self-identification for day-to-day purposes under the protected characteristic of "gender re-assignment," which includes "any stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender, to undergoing a process to reassign your gender, or having completed it," but allows providers of sex-segregated services to deny access to transgender people on a case-by-case basis of "a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".[71][72]

In 2016, the House of Commons' Women and Equalities Committee issued a report recommending that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 be updated "in line with the principles of gender self-declaration".[73] Later in 2016, in England and Wales, a proposal was developed under Theresa May's government to revise the Act to introduce self-identification, but it was dropped in 2020 after opposition. Instead, Boris Johnson's government reduced the cost of application to £5, and the procedure to apply was moved online.[4][6] In 2021, Kemi Badenoch, junior minister for Women and Equalities, stated that "we do not believe in self-identification".[11]

In March 2021, the Welsh government's Independent LGBTQ+ Expert Panel called for the British government to reform the Act "in accordance with the principle of self-determination."[74] Later in 2021, the Welsh government called for "devolution of as many aspects as possible of the Gender Recognition Act."[75] In Scotland, where legal gender recognition is devolved, as of August 2021, the government was moving forward with self-identification legislation that would also reduce the minimum age for applicants from 18 to 16.[8]

Regarding the United Kingdom in general, the Council of Europe Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination argued that "anti-trans rhetoric" had "been gaining baseless and concerning credibility, at the expense of both trans people's civil liberties and women's and children's rights"[11] and that "the 'gender-critical' movement ... wrongly portrays trans rights as posing a particular threat to cisgender women and girls".[11] In a 2018 public consultation,[11] 64% of respondents said that there should not be a requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, 80% were in favour of removing the requirement for a medical report, and 77% were in favour of removing the requirement for people to evidence living "in their acquired gender for a period of time".[76] Seven Scottish women's groups — Close the Gap, Engender, Equate Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Women's Aid, Women 50:50, and Zero Tolerance — released a joint statement during the Scottish GRA consultations endorsing the proposed reforms.[77] In 2020, Human Rights Watch called for the British government to "uphold the United Kingdom’s human rights obligations by reforming the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) to allow for self-identification and recognition of transgender and non-binary people."[78]

Oceania

In November 2017, the New Zealand Parliament introduced the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill to allow people to change the sex on their birth certificates without having to go through the Family Court or show evidence of medical treatment to change their sex.[79] The bill passed its first reading in December 2017 and passed its second reading in August 2021.[80][81] The Human Rights Commission has supported the bill on the grounds that it makes it easier for transgender and non-binary individuals to update sex details on birth certificates.[82]

Academic research

A 2020 paper in the Modern Law Review about the proposed reforms to the UK's Gender Recognition act argued that the reforms would not erode the existing exemptions in the 2010 Equality Act permitting a reliance on sex instead of gender identity, and that, based on existing research, they would "not lead to a significant increase in harms to non-trans women."[83] A 2017 paper from Peter Dunne of Trinity College Dublin said that "there is also little (if any) support for the idea that trans protections facilitate cisgender predators who feign a trans identity to perpetrate assaults in women-only space. In reality, concerns over the supposed threat of trans identities often reveal lingering anti-trans prejudice, reproducing historic tropes about the ‘deviant’, ‘deceptive’ or ‘unstable’ trans individual."[84] A 2018 study, from the Williams Institute in the United Sates, found that passing non-discrimination laws based on self-declared gender identity "is not related to the number or frequency of criminal incidents" in public spaces such as toilets and changing rooms and that "fears of increased safety and privacy violations as a result of nondiscrimination laws are not empirically grounded."[85]

A 2020 study from the University of Bristol found that "being able to change gender legally without having to rely on medical diagnosis and treatment would make older age a much more positive experience for many trans individuals seeking to transition in later life."[86]

Several researchers have also found that self-identification laws will not necessarily address all issues faced by trans people, especially if such laws restrict legal gender to a binary.[87][88][89][90] A 2018 article from Chris Dietz of the University of Leeds on the legal gender recognition system in Denmark found that "recognition may be practically inaccessible in the absence of corresponding health care provision" and that "positivity around the law was mitigated by contemporaneous reforms taking place in the Danish health care system" which had the effect of certifying "a de facto monopoly for authorising [trans healthcare] treatments at the Sexological Clinic (Sexologisk Klinik) of the National Hospital (Rigshospitalet) in Copenhagen".[91]

See also

References

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