TGEU welcomes the proposed legal reforms for legal gender recognition by the Norwegian Ministry of Health today. The proposals would allow individuals to self-determine their gender without having to undergo any compulsory requirements, like sterilisation.
Giving trans people access to quick, accessible and transparent legal gender recognition is crucial, and if passed the proposed law will ensure that trans people do not face unnecessary barriers and discriminatory treatments. As it stands, the current procedure requires trans people to undergo sterilisation and obtain a psychiatric diagnosis in order to be legally recognised.
TGEU Steering Committee member SteinWolff Frydenlund from Norway, comments, “With this reform the Norwegian government would finally be respecting the rights of trans people in Norway, and start to right the wrongs of years of discriminatory practices towards them.”
TGEU Co-chair Arja Voipo added “We welcome having another country in Europe which values the self-determination of trans people, it is particularly valuable that this extends to minors.”
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Notes:
Learn more about TGEU’s work on legal gender recognition at http://tgeu.org/issues/legal-gender-recognition/
TGEU’s Access All Areas! Campaign for Quick, Transparent, and Accessible Legal gender Recognition: http://tgeu.org/accessallareas/
TGEU Press Statement, 10th April 2015, Norwegian Expert Group Publishes Progressive Gender Recognition Recommendations: http://tgeu.org/norwegian-expert-group-publishes-progressive-gender-recognition-recommendations/
Transgender Europe is a European human rights NGO working for the human rights and equality of all trans people. More Information: www.tgeu.org
Transgender or Trans is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or expression differs from the sex assigned to them at birth.