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16 JAN 2014
Joint Oireachtas Committee Publishes Report on Gender Recognition
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection released a report today on proposed gender recognition legislation in Ireland. The Committee's report is a result of a consultation process and public hearings that were held with trans rights groups, human rights organisations and legal and medical experts in October 2013. The Report addresses key issues in the draft Heads of the Bill and makes recommendations in several areas.
Committee Recommendations
Terminology
Having regard to practices in other jurisdictions as well as to legislative constraints, consideration should be given to whether the term "preferred gender" should replace the term "acquired gender" in the Bill.
Age Criterion
The age at which a person is entitled to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate should be reduced from 18 years to 16 years. Measures should also be put-in-place to address the day-to-day concerns of transgender people under the age of 16 years.
Single Criterion
The Committee acknowledges that there is a difference of opinion between the Attorney General and others on the legal issues regarding gender recognition for persons who are married or in a civil partnership. However, the Committee believes that the fact that a person is in an existing marriage or a civil partnership should not prevent him or her from qualifying for a Gender Recognition Certificate, and urges the Minister to revisit this issue.
Evidence of Transition
The Committee recommends that the current wording in the Bill with respect to evidence of transition should be reconsidered to address the concerns raised at the hearings that people not be stigmatised as a result of the requirements in this regard.
Guidelines for Schools
Guidelines on supporting the inclusion of transgender young people in schools should be developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
Participation in Sport
The provisions in Head 26 should be reconsidered in consultation with stakeholders. Irish sporting regulatory bodies receiving public funding should develop comprehensive policies in relation to the participation of transgender people.
Equality Acts Consideration should be given to amending Equality legislation to add "gender identity" to the existing nine grounds under which discrimination is illegal.
The full report is available
here.
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