Trans people in Europe lack protection and recognition reveals Trans Rights Map 2015

Transgender Europe launches today its Trans Rights Europe Map 2015. The update reveals a severe lack of protection and recognition for trans people throughout Europe, with only 37 states recognizing a trans person’s gender identity. 23 states require for it a proof of sterilization. Only two countries, Malta and Denmark, do not request a mental health diagnosis. Non-discrimination, hate crime and asylum legislation on grounds of gender identity and gender expression are widely absent. Though, on a positive note, in the last year seven states introduced explicit discrimination protection, raising the number to 22. However, a mere third of states (13) in Europe explicitly protects trans people against hate crimes. Whereas, 94 killings of trans and gender-diverse people have been reported in 14 European countries in the last seven years.

At the IDAHO – Forum in Budva, Montenegro, TGEU Executive Director Julia Ehrt urged the 240 representatives of governments, international institutions and civil society: “A triad of political leadership, legal reform and positive awareness raising measures is urgently needed to improve the living situation of trans people in Europe.”

The 2015 IDAHO theme looks at the dire situation of LGBTI youth. The EU Fundamental Rights Agency identified trans youth as particularly vulnerable for discrimination. TGEU’s Trans Murder Monitoring Project found that 12% of those murdered trans and gender variant persons where the age is known were younger than 20 years. Procedures in 32 European states are only accessible from age of majority, thus excluding young trans people from having their identities recognized. Moreover, the World Health Organization proposes a diagnosis for gender-diverse children before the age of puberty. A label likely to drive stigma and social exclusion.

“Trans youth have the same need and right as their peers to grow up in a supporting and loving environment. But they face a multitude of disadvantages like exclusion, discrimination and violence. Protecting trans and gender-diverse children and youth, e.g. by making legal gender recognition accessible for them and by not labelling them as mentally ill, should be a primary concern for all.” comments Alecs Recher, TGEU Co-Chair.

“Transgender youth have the same needs and rights as their peers: they have the right to grow up in a supportive and safe environment. However, transgender young people are faced with exceptional challenges and social exclusion, discrimination and violence. Therefore, at this time, a transparent, accessible and based on free choice legal recognition of gender reassignment procedures and a legal regulation protecting transgender people from discrimination, stigmatization and violence has become a priority not only in Lithuania but in all European countries”- said Tomas Vytautas Raškevičius, Policy Coordinator (Human Rights) of the national LGBT* organisation LGL.

The national LGBT* rights organization LGL reminds that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is overseeing the implementation of the decisions taken by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on September 25th, 2014 applied against Lithuania. This decision was taken in view of the fact that so far, all attempts to adopt in Lithuania the necessary gender reassignment laws were unsuccessful. The Civil Code establishes the right to change sex. However, in reality this provision does not work, since the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in more than 10 years did not take any initiative to implement the decision. The legal categories of “gender identity” and “gender expression” simply do not exist in the Lithuanian legal system. Despite the judgment L. v. Lithuania by the European Court of Human Right (ECtHR) in 2007, there is no effective implementation of the right to fast, transparent and accessible gender reassignment procedure for transgender individuals in Lithuania. LGL hopes that the relevant Lithuanian authorities have taken measures to ensure a rapid and high-quality new legal initiatives related to preparation and implementation of the ECHR decision in the case against Lithuania.

Please read more here.

Download TGEU statement here.