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04 FEB 2014
RTE coverage of Amnesty Report on Gender Recognition
Absence of legal procedures for transgender people criticised.
At least seven Western European countries are violating the human rights of people trying to change their legal gender identities, according to Amnesty International.
In a new report the organisation details how transgender people are required to undergo invasive surgery, sterilisation, hormone therapy or psychiatric testing before they can change their legal status.
Speaking in Dublin, Colm O'Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland described such practices as abhorrent, degrading and inhumane.
He also criticised the absence of any procedures in Ireland to enable people to change their legal gender.
The report says that legal gender recognition is key for the enjoyment of human rightsby transgender people.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Ben Power from Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) said the absence of procedures here is a major issue for trans people in Ireland.
He said that when there are discrepancies in their legal documents, they are involuntarily "outed" and left vulnerable to discrimination, harassment and violence.
Mr Power described this as a denial of the basic right to respect for private and family lives, which urgently needs to be addressed.
Amnesty International's report, 'The state decides who I am: Lack of legal recognition for transgender people in Europe', focuses on seven European countries .
It highlights how procedures to obtain legal gender recognition violate fundamental human rights in Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Belgium and Germany.
It also underlines that in Ireland no procedure exists at all.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0204/502161-amnesty-transgender-report/
Shortcut http://www.teni.ie/rte_coverage_of_amnesty_report_on_gender_recognition