Transgender

Over the last 40 years, more than 5,000 people in Britain have successfully transitioned between the genders.  Most are now successfully living in their now recognised gender.  Probably all transgender people will experience some level of harassment and discrimination because of their gender identity.
 
A transgender person is someone who has a deep conviction that their gender (whether they are a man or a women) is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Most transgender people wish to change their name and personal details and live as a member of the gender with which they identify. This may involve hormone therapy and surgery. The process is referred to as ‘gender reassignment’ or ‘transitioning’.

Legislation

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 created a way for transgender people to gain legal recognition for their acquired gender and get a new birth certificate. The Act also includes measures to protect people’s privacy. Applications for gender recognition will be heard by Gender Recognition Panels.   For more information, check out: Gender Recognition Panel

To gain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) and the full legal protection that it brings, transgender people must have been living in their new identity for at least two years and have medical support.  For various reasons, there are many transgender people who do not meet these conditions, cannot acquire a GRC and therefore cannot receive legal protection.  

To combat discrimination experienced by transgender workers, the government passed the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 which amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to cover discrimination at work on grounds of gender reassignment.  For more information, check out: UNISON

Gender reassingment discrimination and harassment in access to goods and services will be unlawful from late 2007, under the European Goods and Services directive. 

The Gender Research and Education Society have a useful website which covers many aspects of atypical gender idenity development, along with forthcoming events and scientifc research.  To read further please follow this link: www.gires.org.uk

For more information, check out the purple "Related Links" box in the top right of this page. Support for friends and family of transgender people is available nationally from Depend.