2015

Trans’

Malta – World’s Most Progressive Gender Identity Law Passes In Europe ( PDF )

( abstract ) The Mediterranean country of Malta adopted the world’s most progressive gender identity law on Wednesday in a final vote by the country’s parliament on Wednesday. The law is the latest in a series of LGBT rights laws ushered in by the Labour Party after taking power in 2013, a dramatic about-face for the country which has a constitution establishing Catholicism as the official religion. [ … ] The law — which goes beyond those its fellow European Union members have passed — would allow for someone to change their legal gender through simply filing an affidavit with a notary without a significant waiting period, eliminates any requirement for medical gender reassignment procedures, and prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. [ … ] But the Maltese law prohibits “non-medically necessary treatments on the sex characteristics of a person” without informed consent and also allows parents to postpone entering a gender marker on a child’s birth certificate.

Transgender Kids Show Consistent Gender Identity Across Measures ( PDF )

( abstract ) A study with 32 transgender children, ages 5 to 12, indicates that the gender identity of these children is deeply held and is not the result of confusion about gender identity or pretense. The study, led by psychological scientist Kristina Olson of the University of Washington, is one of the first to explore gender identity in transgender children using implicit measures that operate outside conscious awareness and are, therefore, less susceptible to modification than self-report measures. The findings will be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Marriage and Forced Divorce – A Legal Gender Recognition Issue Brief ( PDF )

The vast majority of trans people around the world cannot obtain legal recognition of—or official documents that match—their gender identity. Where laws do recognize trans people, they often exclude those who are married. This forces trans people to choose between legal recognition of their gender identity or their marriage. Forced divoce violates trans people’s right to privacy, marriage, and recognition under the law. This brief explains legal restrictions that affect the recognition of married trans and intersex people. It examines case law and addresses key arguments made by those who oppose such recognition. It is the first of four resources for activists that accompany Open Society’s 2014 report on legal gender recognition across the world, License to Be Yourself. ( referenced on our 2014 page as well )