The Gender Recognition Act was put in place in 2005 to have the law recognise people’s gender identity, after undergoing a lengthy process. This process involves: getting signatures from 2 doctors who have diagnosed the applicant with gender dysphoria, the applicant must have lived as their “acquired gender” for at least 2 years after diagnosis, undergoing a mental health background check to rule out mania/ psychosis - which is ableist since it is possible for someone to be mentally ill and transgender - and other steps.
In a consultation undertaken by the last Conservative government (led by Theresa May), an idea was put forward to repeal the Act and to allow trans folk to “self-identify”, meaning they would be able to legally change gender without a medical diagnosis. Out of a survey of around 100,000 people, 64% called for the requirement for diagnosis to be removed. Despite the majority of people voting to reform the GRA, in September 2020, the government announced that they would be scrapping this plan and the “self-ID” process would not go forward. They did make some minor changes to reduce the fee but the process to legally “change gender” will not be de-medicalised. Legal recognition will also not include non-binary people or under-18s.
Some of the problems with the current legal procedure are that it is extremely difficult to obtain a diagnosis and waiting lists for an initial assessment can take quite a while which can worsen gender dysphoria. Furthermore, usually a signature is required from a GP but if your GP is transphobic they may not provide one. It can be extremely detrimental to mental health for a trans person to be prohibited from legally changing the gender on their birth certificate, or for it to take years to make this change. To help potentially reform the GRA, sign the petition at www.petition.parliament.uk (UK citizens only).
Written by Shayma Ahmed
Artwork by Zara Masood
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