Gender Recognition and Human Rights: Reforms to the Gender Recognition Act 2004
6.00pm Thursday 18 July 2019
Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn, London WC2A 3LJ
Presently the Act requires trans people to undergo a costly, complicated, highly medicalised and bureaucratic process. Yet UN guidance outlines that “abusive preconditions” to self-determination violate international human rights standards, and a 2018 European Court of Human Rights ruling – S.V. v Italy – found that excessive bureaucratic barriers to gender recognition violate trans people’s fundamental rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to respect for private and family life.
Last year, the Government issued a consultation that proposed a suite of reforms which would make it simpler for trans people to get a Gender Recognition Certificate – the document that legally recognises a person’s affirmed gender.
This HRLA event will explore these suggested legislative reforms in more detail – to consider what change is needed for the Act to meet fundamental human rights standards.
Michelle Brewer – Garden Court Chambers
Professor Stephen Whittle OBE – Manchester Metropolitan University
Lui Asquith – Mermaids UK
To RSVP for this free event, please contact administrator@hrla.org.uk. Please note that only those who’s names have been registered will be admitted on the evening.
We will accommodate any reasonable adjustments in order to meet the needs of our guests so please do notify us of these when registering.
We are tremendously grateful to our hosts at Garden Court Chambers for their support of this event