The UK government has announced it will be scrapping plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004, despite clear public support.
The Act, which is applicable in England and Wales, is regarded to be ‘groundbreaking’ in having given transgender people a means of having their gender legally recognised.
However, as per Stonewall, the Act is in ‘dire need of reform’, with the organisation having long called for ‘a simple process which isn’t medicalised, intrusive or demeaning’.
As things currently stand, those who want to change the sex stated on their birth certificate will need to pay £140 for a gender recognition certificate application.
They must also need to provide proof that they have lived as the gender they identify with for a period of two years before a panel of legal and medical professionals, and obtain a gender dysphoria diagnosis from two separate medical experts.
Reforms devised in 2018, under Theresa May’s government, proposed changes to legislation so that transgender individuals could make changes to their birth certificate in a less costly, time-consuming and medically invasive manner.
However, in a long-delayed response to the consultation, Women and Equalities Minister Liz Truss has today announced that the government has come to the conclusion that ‘the balance struck’ in the Act is ‘correct’.
Truss stated:
We want transgender people to be free to live and to prosper in a modern Britain. We have looked carefully at the issues raised in the consultation, including potential changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
It is the Government’s view that the balance struck in this legislation is correct, in that there are proper checks and balances in the system and also support for people who want to change their legal sex.
However, it is also clear that we need to improve the process and experience that transgender people have when applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate – making it kinder and more straightforward. Our changes will address the main concerns that trans people themselves tell us they have about it.
Although the government won’t be reforming the Act, it has outlined some changes which are intended to make the process easier, including opening at least three new gender clinics this year to address the issue of current long waiting times.
On top of this, the application process will be moved online, with the current fee of £140 set to be cut to a ‘nominal amount’.
In a statement made today, Stonewall Chief Executive Nancy Kelley said:
Today, the UK government has fallen far short on its promise to reform the Gender Recognition Act, and has missed a key opportunity to progress LGBT equality.
It’s a shocking failure in leadership that after three years and a robust public consultation, the UK Government has put forward only minimal administrative changes to improve the process for legal gender recognition of trans people in England and Wales.
While these moves will make the current process less costly and bureaucratic, they don’t go anywhere near far enough toward meaningfully reforming the Act to make it easier for all trans people to go about their daily life.
Kelley went on to note that, as per the Government’s own response, ‘a strong majority’ of those who responded to the consultation were in support of pushing these reforms.
Furthermore, just last week the British Medical Association called upon the UK Government to allow trans people to be recognised for who they are without being medically diagnosed.
You can sign the petition to reform the gender recognition act here.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468. The line is open 8pm–midnight Mondays and Fridays and is run by trans volunteers.
Source link : https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/uk-government-to-scrap-gender-recognition-act-reform-despite-public-support
