Lawmakers in Spain and Scotland passed transgender rights bills on Thursday last week allowing anyone aged 16 or over to change their gender on official documents.
In Spain they will eventually be able to change the gender on their ID card with a simple declaration, and in Scotland they will no longer need a gender dysphoria diagnosis.
Here is a roundup of the situation worldwide on the status of transgender people, who identify as a different gender to the one they were given at birth.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
Still early days
The World Health Organization (WHO) reclassified transgenderism as recently as 2019 so that it was no longer considered a mental disorder.
According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), at least 25 UN member states “allow for legal gender recognition without prohibitive requirements.”
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
However, only around 15 countries allow transgender people to change their status with a simple declaration.
In some countries, the legal and administrative process can take years and may include requirements such as psychiatric diagnosis, hormone treatment, gender reassignment surgery or even sterilization.
Argentina, the pioneer
Argentina has led the way on transgender rights, allowing a change of gender on national identity cards with a simple declaration since 2012.
Several Latin American countries have since adopted similar laws, including Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
Chile’s gender identity law came into force in 2019, having gained traction following the international success of the country’s Oscar-winning film “A Fantastic Woman,” starring transgender actress Daniela Vega.
Denmark, first in Europe
In 2010, the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling on member states to guarantee the rights of transgender people to obtain official documents with their chosen status without requiring other procedures such as sterilization, surgery or hormone therapy.
Four years later, Denmark became the first European country to allow people to apply for a legal gender change and obtain a new gender status on their identification card with a simple declaration.
Other European countries have since followed, including Malta, Sweden, Ireland, Norway and Belgium.
France, which in 2010 was the first country in the world to remove transgenderism from its list of mental illnesses, has since 2017 allowed transgender people to change their status by asking a court.
In June 2022, Germany unveiled plans to make it easier for trans people to officially change their first name and gender.
Third gender option
Some countries, particularly in South Asia, have traditionally recognized a third gender that is neither male nor female.
Pakistan in 2009 became one of the first to legally recognize a third sex.
Nepal in 2013 added a transgender category on citizenship certificates, which act as a national identity card. In the same year, Australia allowed its citizens to add a third category to passports.
In 2014, India’s Supreme Court recognized the existence of a third gender.
From 2018, transgender people have been able to register to vote as a third gender in neighboring Bangladesh.
In the same year, Germany legalized a third gender on birth certificates.
In the US in 2021, the State Department eased gender selection on passports by allowing transgender passport holders to use “X” for their gender. The move began officially in April.
(AFP)
西班牙和蘇格蘭的立法者上週四通過了變性人權利法案，允許十六歲及以上的任何人更改官方文件上的性別。
在西班牙，他們終於可以透過簡單的聲明，來更改身份證上的性別。
在蘇格蘭，更改性別將不再需要「性別不一致」的診斷。
以下為全球變性人（認為自己的性別與出生時的性別不同）狀況之綜述。
仍在起步階段
世界衛生組織（WHO）於2019年將跨性別重新歸類，不再把它視為一種精神障礙。
根據國際男女同性戀聯合會（ILGA）的說法，至少有25個聯合國成員國「允許在沒有禁令要求的情況下對性別進行法律上的承認」。
但只有大約15個國家允許跨性別者透過簡單的聲明來改變其身份。
在一些國家，法律及行政程序可耗時數年，可能包括精神病學診斷、激素治療、變性手術，甚至絕育等要求。
阿根廷為先驅
阿根廷在變性人權利方面居領先地位，自2012年來，只需簡單聲明即可更改國民身份證上的性別。
一些拉丁美洲國家之後也採用了類似的法律，包括烏拉圭、哥倫比亞、玻利維亞、厄瓜多和秘魯。
在智利，性別認同法於2019年生效。該國變性女演員丹妮娜．維嘉主演的奧斯卡獲獎影片《不思議女人》在國際上取得成功後，該法獲得了廣泛關注。
丹麥為歐洲首國
2010年，歐洲理事會通過一項決議，呼籲成員國保障跨性別者有權獲取載有其選擇身份的官方文件，而無需其他程序，如絕育、手術或激素治療。
四年後，丹麥成為歐洲第一個允許申請變更法律上之性別，並透過簡單聲明以改變身份證上性別之國家。
此後，其他歐洲國家紛紛效仿，包括馬爾他、瑞典、愛爾蘭、挪威和比利時。
法國於2010年成為全球第一個將跨性別從精神疾病清單中刪除的國家，自2017年以來，法國允許跨性別者通過向法院申請改變其身份。
2022年6月，德國公佈了讓跨性別者更容易正式更改名字和性別的計畫。
第三性別選項
有些國家，尤其是南亞國家，傳統上承認既非男也非女的第三性別。
2009年，巴基斯坦成為首批在法律上承認第三性別的國家之一。
2013年，尼泊爾在用作國民身份證的公民證上增加了一個跨性別類別。同年，澳洲允許其公民在護照上增加第三類性別。
2014年，印度最高法院承認第三性別的存在。
在鄰國孟加拉，自2018年起，跨性別者可以第三性別身份登記投票。
同年，德國將出生證明上的第三性別合法化。
2021年，美國國務院放寬了護照的性別選擇，允許跨性別者在護照上使用「X」作為性別。此作法於4月正式開始。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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