Norway will let trans six-year-olds change their legal gender for the first time
Norway plans to liberalise its gender recognition system – allowing trans people to change their legal gender by filling out a simple form, and opening the process up to children.
At present, the country requires trans people to go through a number of convoluted steps to change their gender, requiring them to seek medical treatment, undergo psych evaluations and provide ‘evidence’ of their gender change.
However, a new government healthcare bill in the country will drastically simplify the procedure, ditching the series of bureaucratic hurdles.
In order to change gender under the proposed new system, people would have to send off a simple form to the local civic office – a similar procedure to changing your name.
According to TheLocal.No, Healthcare Minister Bent Høie explained: “Norway is in the forefront when it comes to LGBT rights.
“But our current system for changing legal gender is unacceptable and has been unchanged for nearly 60 years. This proposal is in accordance with human rights.”
Ingvild Endestad of Norway’s LGBT Association told the website: “It’s the same procedure that has existed for changing your name since 2008. You can even do it in one click on the Internet.”
Under the proposals, the system will also be opened up to young people for the first time. At present, only over-18s may access gender recognition, but under the first-of-its-kind bill, parents can authorise a legal gender change for their child from the age of six.
Those over 16 will be able to change their own legal gender without parental permission.
The US-based family of six-year-old trans girl Coy Mathis previously won a discrimination case after a school refused to recognise her as a girl.
