Löfven promises new transgender law before the election
RFSL and RFSL Ungdom are jubilant over today's decision from prime minister Stefan Löfven, who, in his speech during the opening of parliament, promised that a new gender recognition act would be passed in parliament before the end of the term of office.
A new gender recognition act, enabling transgender people to legally change their gender through self-identification, has been RFSL and RFSL Ungdom’s most prioritised political issue for many years. The current legislation was adopted in 1972 and means that a person has to seek gender-affirming care and receive a medical diagnosis in order to change their legal gender.
– Finally, Sweden will get a new gender recognition act that respects transgender people’s human rights. RFSL has been working for 15 years for new legislation. It’s historic and a milestone in the work for LGBTQI people’s human rights, says Deidre Palacios, president of RFSL.
The government has signalled that they want to make it easier to change legal gender, that the issue of legal gender should be detached from healthcare and that minors should be able to change their legal gender.
– To be able to live with the right legal gender is incredibly important to many transgender people and a new gender recognition act is a big step in the right direction, especially if the law enables minors to change legal gender, says Jêran Rostam, president of RFSL Ungdom.