Posted on 15. February 2013 in Legal actions

 

local activists and TGEU at French Senate

France: Gender Recognition Act underway

TGEU was invited to a hearing of a French Senatorial working group drafting Legal Gender Recognition Act in the next months. The audition took place on January 31st 2013 in Paris, where TGEU participated alongside with national trans organizations and the Council of Europe LGBT Unit. The legal draft shall be finished within the 1st quarter of 2013.

TGEU appreciates the valuable and high quality exchange of recommendations and arguments.  TGEU was invited to bring in a European perspective to the table and provide examples of promising policy solutions that France should be inspired to follow.

The present Delaunay proposal foresees to install a rather simple procedure without medical or psychiatric preconditions that would facilitate the change of name and gender in a quick, transparent and accessible manner.

TGEU presented the following recommendations to the French Senate:
  • Recognition and application of the Yogyakarta principles and hence the recognition of a person’s gender identity in their civil status documents
  • Found legal gender recognition on the principles of self-determination, the right to recognition and free development of one’s own gender identity, drawing inspiration from most advanced legislation in this matter.
  • Ensure that procedures for legal gender recognition are quick, transparent and accessible.
  • Dissociate procedures of legal gender recognition from medical interventions or expertise (this may not impact the accessibility of health services delivering gender reassignment services), diagnostic procedures or a requirement of divorce,
  • Protect the privacy of the applicant and guarantee that no third party without a legitimate interest may obtain information about the legal gender recognition;
  • Guarantee that legal gender recognition has immediate effect to alter all official and contracting documents showing name and gender of a person, particularly the Social security number, educational and employment certificates issued by state and non-state actors.

TGEU will continue to support the French trans activist movement in their efforts to create a law that would fully comply with international human rights law.

 

 

pictures: courtesy of TGEU