Why you should fill out the Gender Recognition Act
So the consultation of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) closes tomorrow, and I’m here to tell you why you should fill it out!
If you don’t know already, the GRA is a piece of legislation that was passed in 2004 that “governs how trans people can have their identity legally recognised.” Whilst it was a groundbreaking piece of legislation at the time, it’s now outdated and doesn’t recognise further aspects of gender identity that we are now more aware of.
The main four flaws that trans* rights activists have identified with the GRA are;
- The fact that non-binary people aren’t recognised anywhere within the GRA, meaning 1 in 250 people can’t have their identity legally recognised.
- The fact it costs £140 to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate, which further excludes many people with a low income.
- You need to provide ‘proof’ that you’ve been ‘living’ as Trans* for the last two years, which means people need to play up to gender stereotypes instead of living authentically.
- You need to have a clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which alienates those who don’t experience dysphoria, and further implies that Trans* identities are something to be decided by medical practitioners.
It’s super important for everyone to fill this out, whether you’re trans, non-binary or an ally. Recently, there has been a rise in hate towards trans* people, such as the ‘A Woman’s Place’ meeting that I wrote about the other week. We need to all come together and support our trans* siblings in times like this, because it doesn’t only affect them — it affects all of us. By remaining apathetic, we only help breed a culture of hate. The Government needs to know that changing the GRA will affect everyone for the better, not just those that will directly benefit from it.
The statement from the NUS puts it better than I ever could, so what follows is from their guidance around the consultation.
We are calling for the removal of a requirement for lived experience. The current criteria relies on outdated gender stereotypes and pushes trans people into absurd situations where their documents and clothes are deemed more important than their actual lives.
We are calling for the removal of a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Maintaining it pathologises trans people’s experiences and making medical intervention a necessity for legal recognition.
We want an end to the binary regulation of gender by ensuring that non-binary people are better able to move through the world without being forced into the boxes of “male” or “female”.
We want fees to be abolished. Trans people should not have to pay over £200 just to have their birth certificate reissued.
We are also calling for an end to coercively assigning gender at birth, and an end to gatekeeping of gender identity and experience by the state.’
If you want more information about the actualities of filling out the consultation, you can find the NUS’ guidance to fill it out here;
Please, please fill out the consultation here. We need a reformed Gender Recognition Act that recognises non-binary identities, requires no diagnosis for trans* people to get their identities recognised, and gives all trans* and nb people the right to self-identification. No-one should have to prove they’re trans* enough. You have until 11pm on Friday 19th October, so fill it out now!
