Creative Commons - Ted Eyton
Creative Commons – Ted Eyton

The Green Party of England & Wales has responded to the Government Equalities Office’s (GEO) announcement of a review of the Gender Recognition Act, calling for an overhaul of the legislation and the enshrining of new trans rights.

Responding to the announcement spokesperson Aimee Challenor said:

“The Green Party has long maintained the Gender Recognition Act discriminates against some trans people and a review is well overdue. This is a welcome move from the GEO when LGBTIQA+ rights are under unprecedented threat around the world, but we need to make sure the review brings to light the significant flaws in the act and leads to real change.

“We need an overhaul of trans rights in the act in order for it to be fit for purpose. In particular, trans youth and non-binary people need to be able to obtain legal gender recognition. It’s also crucial we remove the medicalisation of the process.”

The current Gender Recognition Act, passed in 2004, requires a person to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria in order to change their gender in the eyes of the law.

Existing Green Party policy calls for a number of changes to the legal framework for trans people and gender recognition, including supporting legal recognition of non-binary people and trans youth, the ability for intersex people to alter their birth certificates and the abolition of the spousal veto for married trans people on legal recognition of their gender.

The Greens also support a widespread campaign against transphobia, including through public education programs in schools.