Equality Network and Scottish Transgender Alliance Equal Recognition Campaign

How does the Gender Recognition Act work now? Allows people over the age of 18 to change their birth certificate from ‘male’ to ‘female’ or vice versa Have to prove you have been living in your ‘acquired’ gender for two years Have to have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria Have to provide evidence of any medical interventions you have undergone as part of your transition Gender Recognition Panel assesses applications and decides whether to grant you a Gender Recognition Certificate

Equal Recognition Campaign Three calls Remove the psychiatric diagnosis requirement for legal recognition and move to a system of self-declaration Reduce the age at which people can get legal recognition of the gender they live as Provide legal recognition for people who do not identify as men or women

Reduce the age At the moment, you need to be 18 or over to change your legal gender. This needs to be changed in two ways: 16 and 17 year olds should be able to apply for legal gender recognition by the same process as people who are 18 and over Young people under the age of 16 should be able to apply for legal gender recognition with the consent of their parents or guardians

Reduce the age: why? In Scotland, young people are deemed to have full legal capacity at 16 years old 16 and 17 year olds are likely to be making many new starts – such as jobs, further education etc. “I’m currently 17 and am going away to college next year. I would much prefer to have myself as male on the official records, but they need to have my ‘real’ details on the system.” Young trans person Can vote in elections, get married, and consent to any medical, surgical or dental treatment

Reduce the age: why? “Absolute denial of legal gender recognition to individuals under a given age is not consistent with existing international standards regarding the rights of children.” Amnesty International Report There is no way at all for young people to be recognised as who they are, just because of their age Young people who are living healthy happy lives with parental support are still left in a legal limbo, with documents that don’t reflect their realities

Reduce the age: why? Extending legal gender recognition to young people in keeping with many of the articles of UNCRC: Article 2 - children and young people should be protected against all forms of discrimination. Article 3 - the best interests of all children and young people should be respected. Article 8 – the right to identity – which includes gender identity and sexual orientation within its scope. Article 12 - the right to express views freely and have opinions listened to. Article 13 - the right to freedom of expression. Article 16 - the right to privacy. UNCRC used to successfully argue for no lower age limit in Malta and Argentina, and is also explicitly mentioned in both pieces of legislation in those countries

Reduce the age: why? Really important to understand that allowing young people under the age of 16 to have their gender legally recognised is not about access to medical treatments Provides them with protection Provides them with documents that validate their identities Ensures that they aren’t deprived of rights just on the basis of their age

Reduce the age: why? Trans young people continue to face high levels of discrimination in education: 77% of trans young people have experienced homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying in schools 42% of those trans young people who have experienced bullying have left education as a result

Reduce the age: international best practice For 16 & 17 year olds Netherlands Norway For young people under 16 Malta and Argentina - there is no lower age limit for applying for legal gender recognition Norway - young people aged 6-15 can have their gender legally recognised with parents’ or guardians’ consent

Reduce the age: what are our recommendations? 16 and 17 year olds should be able to apply to have their gender legally recognised by the same process as people who are 18 or over. Young people under the age of 16 should be able to apply to have their gender legally recognised with the consent of their parents or guardians.

Reduce the age: what are our recommendations? In instances where more than one person has parental responsibilities for a young person, and not all of those people consent to a change in legal gender: The Children’s Panel would make a decision regarding the best interest of the child or young person This would take into account the wishes of the child or young person, in accordance with their age and maturity

Scottish Parliament and support SNP, Scottish Labour, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish Greens – manifesto committments to reforming the Act so it is in line with international best practice (all three calls) Scottish Conservatives –committed to reviewing the legislation In the current Scottish Parliament, 98 of 129 MSPs represent parties who are committed to implementing all three calls of the campaign

Tam Baillie, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scottish Parliament and support “I am supportive of the calls made by the Scottish Transgender Alliance in respect of the Equal Recognition: Reducing the age.  I agree that 16 and 17 year olds have legal capacity and should have the right to apply for legal gender recognition status on the same basis as those aged over 18 years.  I also agree that there are sufficient safeguards and restrictions suggested by the Alliance for those aged under 16 years to have their legal gender status recognised.” Tam Baillie, Children and Young People’s Commissioner

Moving forward with the campaign The government has committed to consulting on reforms to the Gender Recognition Act in the first half of this year Hugely beneficial for us if a wide range of organisations submit evidence saying they support the changes – this is about all young people’s human rights Let your followers know about our campaign and why you support it Can also sign up to be displayed as a supporter organisation on our campaign website

Contact details Vic Valentine Office: 0131 467 6039 Email: vic@equality-network.org www.equality-network.org www.scottishtrans.org www.equalrecogniton.scot @LGBTIScotland & @ScottishTrans on twitter