LEGAL GENDER RECOGNITION IN EUROPE 16th Annual Conference ILGA-Europe Dublin Ireland, 19th Oct 2012

OVERVIEW RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

NGO coalition working on removal of sterilization requirement Belgium Oct ‘12: debate in Parliament. publishing of name change and change of name/ gender on birth certificates removed. Clear definition of procedures still missing. Croatia 2011: reform lead to stricter access requirements to gender recognition, commission with questionable composition Czech Republic Spring ‘12: announcement forming a working group on legal reform, particularly to look into infertility requirement. So far nothing happened. Finland 1 st draft law expected: change from court to administrative procedure upon declaration with two testimonies at city hall (similar to wedding) France

Summer ‘12: Reform paper on German Transsexual Law Germany June ‘12: Adoption of Gender Recognition Legislation. No sterilization requirement, still very medicalized. Creation of a gender expert team. Iceland Never-ending story… -> see Broden’s presentation Ireland March ’12: 30 th anniversary of Law 164, civil society calling for a reform and better protection in employment and other spheres. Law still requires sterilization. Italy Summer ’12: discussion on Legal Proposal (Dec ’10) foreseeing move from court to administrative procedure, drop single- status requirement Malta May ’12: Court of Appeal Chisinau: sterilization not a requirement for LGR, ‘transsexualism’ diagnosis is sufficient. (key argument: too expensive) Moldova

Autumn 12: at Parliament. Removal of Sterilisation requirement, administrative procedure; requirement of an “expert” in “gender dysphoria”. Planned introduction: Summer 2013 Netherlands Nov/11: creation of legal gender recognition announced by Justice Ministry; May ‘12: "Gender Accordance Act" proposal submitted to Polish parliament Poland Autumn ’12: political reform in drafting, expected in the coming weeks for debate. planned introduction: 01 July Court of Appeal on sterility requirement Sweden Regional Courts in Zurich (Feb/11), Bern (June/12), Jura (Sept/12): proof of sterility may not be demanded; supported by legal advice of the Federal Office of Civil Status (Feb/12) Switzerland Sept 2011: Order of Ministry of Health – remove proof of suicidal tendencies; reduced age from 25 > 18 years Ukraine

CHECKLIST Legal Gender Recognition

Levels:  Administration  Requirements  Explicit and implicit  Scope

Administrative Question Existance of legal procedure  Is there a possibility to legally change documents? Existance of procedure/court decisions  Is it clearly established which institution (or other actors) deal with the process? Name change  Is a change of name for trans people possible? Are procedures quick, transparent and accessible? Is it independently from gender marker change? Legal gender recognition  Is it possible to legally change the registered gender? If yes, are procedures quick, transparent and accessible? No procedure  Is a clear procedure (implementation) foreseen?

Requirements I GID diagnosis/medical opinion  It is required implicitly or explicitly to obtain a medical opinion (This might also include physical examinations (Hormones, Chromosomes, blood-work, brain x-ray)). No compulsory surgical interventions  Surgical interventions are neither explicit requirement in gender recognition legislation nor implicit/ explicit for obtaining a mandatory diagnosis. Compulsory sterilisation  Is it required (explicitly or implicitly) to prove sterility or infertility? Surgical/medical interventions  Is invasive surgery, such as chest re- construction, sterilisation, genital surgery or hormonal treatment explicitly or implicitly required?

Requirements II Real-Life-Experience  Is it required to proof that (for a certain period of time) the applicant has lived in the preferred gender? Compulsory Divorce  Is it possible to stay within a marriage for changing name/ gender? If not, are there alternatives, such as registered partnership, available securing the same level of rights? Age Restrictions  Are minors or persons above a certain age excluded from access to the law? Is there indirect exclusion through age restrictions for medical requirements?

Scope of Law I Full Legal Capacity  Upon a decision can one access all rights associated with the confirmed gender, e.g. Right to marry (as defined in the country)? Disclosure Ban  Are entries in birth certificates and national registries changed without a trace? (or just amended?) Is an automatic protection against disclosure foreseen, so that no third party (without legitimate interest) can find out that a legal gender recognition took place? Check also implementation and relevant data protection measures that might lead to a violation of privacy.

Scope of Law II Extends to State and Non-state Actors  Are established procedures authorative towards state and non-state actors to ensure change of documents such as drivers license, social security documents, bank accounts reflecting the recognized gender? Does this also extend towards retroactively changing educational or employment certificates? Legal Parent - Child Relationship  Does a decision would have bearing on the legal relationship between applicant and their parents, children or descendants of children? Pensions And Similar Recurrent Payments  Upon a decision is it possible to access pension schemes according to the recognized gender?

Keep in mind -Implementation is the real checklist -Legal Gender Recognition is usually still based on Gener Binary  Comments? additional Questions?

Information Rescources Thank you!