UK GENDER LAWS:
From The Independant
The transitioning process will be streamlined to remove bureaucracy
Jon Stone Political Correspondent
@joncstone
The Government is planning to reform gender identity rules to make it easier for people to choose their own gender in law.
Under plans being considered by ministers, adults will be able to change their birth certificates at will without a doctor’s diagnosis, while non-binary gender people will be able to record their gender as “X”.
Changes to the law will be consulted on and will ultimately be included in a planned Gender Recognition Bill, set to be published in the autumn.
Under current laws – established in 2004 – a person who wishes to transition must apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. This requires a doctor’s diagnosis of gender dysphoria and that someone spend two years of living as a member of the opposite gender.
The reforms were recommended by Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee last year, which said that they were key to trans people being “treated equally and fairly”.
Plans for self-identification were included in the Labour manifesto, though not the Conservative one. The Gender Recognition Bill did not appear in the Queen’s Speech last month.
Suzanna Hopwood, a member of the Stonewall Trans Advisory Group, said: “It’s vital that this reform removes the requirements for medical evidence and an intrusive interview panel, and finally allows all trans people to have their gender legally recognised through a simple administrative process.”
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