Legal gender recognition
Data in passports, ID cards, social security ID, or bank cards can be a source of distress to members of the LGBT community, triggering humiliation, discrimination, and sometimes violence.
The Council of Europe and several United Nations[1] mandates have confirmed that requiring mental health diagnosis, or any kind of third-party opinion, violates the dignity of trans people and their right to self-determination. Legal gender recognition, therefore, should be “quick, transparent, and accessible” procedures[2] “based on self-determination”.[3]
In 2019, the World Health Organization formally adopted the International Classification of Diseases 11th edition (ICD-11), removing all trans-related categories from the Chapter on Mental and Behavioral Disorders. Other expert organisations, such as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), also advise against compulsory mental health diagnosis or treatment in order to access legal gender recognition.[4]
References
- Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity: report of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, United Nations, 2018
- Recommendations on Measures to Combat Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - CM/Rec 2010(5), Paragraph 21, Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, 2010
- Discrimination against transgender people in Europe, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 2015
- Trans Rights Index & Map, TGEU, 2020