The Equality Authority today welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, that she intends to provide legal recognition for the acquired gender of transgender people and to extend the protections of the equality legislation to them. The Minister made this announcement at the 4th European Transgender Council meeting in Dublin, at Dublin City University.
The Equality Authority also welcomed the announcement that Minister Burton will ask the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education to examine the issue of gender recognition in the coming weeks.
CEO of the Equality Authority, Renée Dempsey, said: “The referral of the issue to the Oireachtas Committee provides an opportunity to address concerns that have been expressed about the report of the Gender Recognition Advisory Group, which was published in July 2011”.
Concerns were expressed at a number of recommendations in the report of the Gender Recognition Advisory Group when it was published. One of these was the proposal to make divorce compulsory for married transgendered people before recognition of their gender would be registered. A second proposal that gave rise to concern related the administrative and legal procedures for the recognition of a person’s gender.
Ms Dempsey said: “The proposals in the Gender Recognition Advisory Group report effectively required a person to have either a formal medical diagnosis of a mental health disorder or to have undergone gender reassignment surgery.”
“The Equality Authority in its submission to the Gender Recognition Advisory Group stressed the need for the dignity of the person to be fully respected in the legislation. While the proposals would provide the possibility of a person who has not had reassignment surgery being recognised, this is at the cost of requiring instead a diagnosis of a mental health disorder”.
Ms Dempsey also identified the need for the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts to be amended. At present, discrimination because a person is transgendered must be challenged on the gender ground.
Ms Dempsey also commended TENI, Transgender Equality Network Ireland, for their successful bid to host the 4th European Transgender Council inDublin, in partnership with Dublin City University. “The event has offered the platform for this important statement from Minister Burton, and the Equality Authority is delighted that she took this opportunity to make the commitment on progressing the matter”
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