Big milestone for trans and intersex people in Europe: Equality bodies must now work on our rights

On 7 May, the EU adopted a Directive on minimum standards for equality bodies. Equality bodies now must consider the gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics of a (potential) victim of discrimination.

Today, TGEU (Trans Europe and Central Asia) launches its annual update of the Trans Rights Index & Map, which documents the legal situation of trans people in Europe and Central Asia. 

On May 7, the Advocate General Court of Justice of the European Union said that Romania's refusal to recognise changes of forename and legal gender marker acquired in another Member State is contrary to the rights of EU citizens.

The Czech Constitutional Court ruled against the requirement of sterilisation for legal gender change, calling it a severe violation of human rights.

United Nations Trans Advocacy Week (UN TAW) is a collective project by non-governmental organisations, offering trans activists a platform to make their voices heard on a global scale and in international human rights spaces.

Funding worth 90, 000 Euros available for three of TGEU's member organisations. Find out how to apply.

We've teamed up with Access Now to organise an Activist Safety and Digital Wellbeing webinar. The webinar aims to empower attendees with tools and knowledge to enhance their safety and digital wellbeing and reduce risks faced by trans communities.

In a historic vote today, the Swedish Parliament have simplified the process for legal gender recognition. The updated law means that trans people will be able to change their gender markers on official documents with a certificate from a doctor.

TGEU expresses profound concern over the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration. While we acknowledge efforts towards reform, the Pact fails to adequately address the needs of vulnerable asylum seekers, including trans and gender-diverse people fleeing persecution.

Today, the German Parliament has adopted a legal gender recognition law based on self-determination. The new law ends four decades of patronising trans people and declaring trans people as mentally ill.

From talking to our members, it’s clear that proposal writing and fundraising are some of the biggest obstacles to accessing funding for our trans communities. This is why we are excited to hold a series of fundraising webinars alongside our partner FRIDA Young Feminist Fund.

We, the undersigned equality and anti-discrimination organisations, call on the European Union’s leaders and European Institutions to ensure equality, anti-racism, and fundamental rights are a priority during the next legislative mandate.