The State Decides Who I Am
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THE STATE DECIDES WHO I AM LACK OF LEGAL GENDER RECOGNITION FOR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN EUROPE Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. First published in 2014 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom © Amnesty International 2014 Index: EUR 01/001/2014 English Original language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] Cover photo: The Rally for Recognition was organised by TEA (Trans* Education and Advocacy) at DCU, Dublin, September 2012. © Alison McDonnell amnesty.org CONTENTS CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 6 A. What are gender identity and expression? ................................................................. 9 B. How many transgender people live in Europe? ........................................................ 11 C. Discrimination against transgender people because of their gender identity ............... 11 D. Aims and methodology ......................................................................................... 15 E. Terminology ........................................................................................................ 16 1. LEGAL GENDER RECOGNITION AND HUMAN RIGHTS .............................................. 18 1.1 The rights to private life and to recognition before the law ...................................... 20 1.2 The right to the highest attainable standard of health and to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment ............................................................................. 21 1.3 The right to marry and to found a family and the right to family life ........................ 26 1.4 The best interest of the child .............................................................................. 27 1.5 Intersex people .................................................................................................. 28 2. LEGAL GENDER RECOGNITION IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ..................................... 30 2.1 Denmark ........................................................................................................... 30 2.1.1 Current laws and practices ........................................................................... 31 2.1.2 Medical requirements: the psychiatric diagnosis ............................................. 32 2.1.3 Hormone treatments and surgeries ................................................................ 34 2.1.4 Sterilization ................................................................................................ 36 2.1.5 Consequences of current law and practices .................................................... 37 2.1.6 Opportunities for changing laws and practices ................................................ 39 2.2 Finland ............................................................................................................. 40 2.2.1. Current policies and practices ..................................................................... 40 2.2.2. Medical requirements: the psychiatric diagnosis ............................................ 41 2.2.3 Other medical requirements: hormone treatment and sterilization .................... 43 2.2.4 Other requirements: change in marital status ................................................. 44 2.2.5 Consequences of current law and practices .................................................... 45 2.2.6 Opportunities for change.............................................................................. 47 2.3 France ............................................................................................................. 49 2.3.1. Case law ................................................................................................... 49 2.3.2 Current practices and requirements .............................................................. 50 2.3.3 Consequences of the current practices .......................................................... 53 2.3.4 Opportunities for changing laws and practices ................................................ 56 2.4 Ireland ............................................................................................................. 58 2.4.1. Case law and practices ............................................................................... 58 2.4.2 Consequences of legislative gaps and current practices ................................... 60 2.4.3 Opportunities for changing laws and practice ................................................. 64 2.4.4 The General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013 .............................. 65 2.5. Norway ............................................................................................................ 70 2.5.1 Current laws and practices ........................................................................... 70 2.5.2 Medical requirements: the psychiatric diagnosis ............................................. 71 2.5.3 Other medical requirements: hormone treatment and surgeries ........................ 73 2.5.4 The sterilization requirement ........................................................................ 75 2.5.5 Consequences of current practices ................................................................ 76 2.5.6 Opportunities for changing laws and practices ................................................ 77 2.6 Other Countries ................................................................................................. 79 2.6.1 Belgium ..................................................................................................... 79 2.6.1.1 Current law and practices .......................................................................... 79 2.6.1.2 Consequences of current practices and discrimination .................................. 81 2.6.1.3 Opportunities for changing laws and practices ............................................. 82 2.6.2 Germany ........................................................................................................ 83 2.6.2.1 Current laws and practices ........................................................................ 84 2.6.2.2 Change of name: the minor solution ........................................................... 85 2.6.2.3 Change of legal gender: the major solution .................................................. 86 2.6.2.4 Opportunities for changing laws and practices ............................................. 89 3. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................. 90 APPENDIX I: HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS ................................................................. 95 APPENDIX II: International Classification of Diseases, 10th Version (ICD-10) .................. 100 6 The state decides who I am Lack of legal gender recognition for transgender people in Europe INTRODUCTION “Legal gender recognition is important as it is a validation of who I am. When you are born you get your birth certificate and when you die you get your death certificate. People take that for granted. It follows you all through life. Nobody thinks about it. But if I go into a social welfare office and someone wants to make my life difficult [because I don’t have documents reflecting my gender identity], I have no legal rights to rely on… Legal gender recognition also validates you within the rest of the population. If you are seen to be legally recognized then you have more legitimacy within the wider community, within the non-transgender community, and that’s important.” Louise, a transgender woman living in Dublin, Ireland For transgender people, official identity documents reflecting their gender identity are vitally important for the enjoyment of their human rights. They are not only crucial when travelling but also for everyday life; depending on the specific country, individuals may be asked to produce an official document when they enrol in school, apply for a job, access a public library or open a bank account. Amnesty International January 2014 Index: EUR O1/001/2014 The state decides who I am 7 Lack of legal gender recognition for transgender people in Europe In 1992, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) first recognized that a state’s refusal to allow transgender people to change the gender markers on their official documents