Socialist MP Michèle Delaunay and the whole socialist parliamentary group submitted on December 22nd 2011 a bill that aims at simplifying legal gender recognition for transgender citizens.
It concludes three years long endeavors of a parliamentary working group lead by Michèle Delaunay with the expertise of HES activists (Homosexualités & Socialisme)
This bill has following objectives :
– to equalize court judgment outputs about legal gender change in civil status, stopping the obligation to prove that the undergone physical transformation is irreversible. The Ministry of Justice issued a circular letter on May 14th 2010 towards prosecuting attorneys, requesting to stop demands of medical examinations. It didn’t change judge behaviors still seeking the irreversible criteria.
– to simplify the legal proceeding enabling gender change in civil status, aiming at, according Michèle Delaunay’s own words, cancelling its traumatic and barbarian nature. The proposed proceeding recognizes the individual’s preferred gender identity, without any prior obligation to undergo sterilisation or other medical procedures such as sex reassignment surgery and hormonal therapy, and therefore comply with the resolution 1728 ( article 16.11.2) voted on April 29th 2010 by the Parliament Assembly of Council of Europe.
The proceeding give back full dignity to transgender persons. Once for all gender change in civil status and transgender health are de-correlated.
The bill has been translated in English and can be found here.
Yet, transgender health and related standards of care are still an open issue in France, left abandoned by current government. HES still demands that a comprehensive reform including standards of care, care structure, and insurance coverage shall comply with the principle of free choice of its own practitioner, and with a true respect of transgender needs diversity.
This submitted bill will not be proposed for a vote since current parliamentary political orientation can’t allow it. French presidential election is coming soon in early 2012 and makes hope for a new political distribution in the Parliament two months later. This bill will be the only reference in matter of gender change in civil status. HES and LGBT NGOs will make sure that candidates’ promise towards transgender rights takes benefit from this submitted bill and comes true as soon as possible .
***
Contacts :
Gilles Bon-Maury, président d’HES, gilles.bon-maury@hes-france.org, tél. +33 6 61 53 19 39 ;
Laura Leprince, déléguée chargée des questions d’identité de genre, laura.leprince@hes-france.org, tél. +33 6 85 88 58 11.