Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 – A Briefing Note for MPs
The purpose of this briefing paper is to outline the current legislation in Western European countries regarding the rights of trans and gender nonconforming people to change their gender markers on official government documentation legally.
It will briefly outline the current and proposed legislation for each of the Western European countries and identify the year that the legislation came in/or is coming into effect.
Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 – Legislation in European Counties
Most countries endorse what in the UK we call either “Self-ID” or “Self-Identification; those countries are in date order of law introduction listed below. In total, there are fourteen countries where gender self-identification requires no judge or medical expert to be involved.
- Denmark, 2014
- Ireland, 2015
- Malta, 2015
- Norway, 2016
- Belgium, 2017
- Luxembourg, 2018
- Portugal, 2018
- Iceland, 2019
- Cyprus, 2022
- Switzerland, 2022
- Andorra, 2023
- Finland, 2023
- Spain, 2023
- Germany, 2024
In two European countries, legal change to gender markers is permitted, but it must be sought through the courts. However, like in the above list, no medical requirement is necessary.
- Greece, 2017
- France, 2018
Finally, two countries have passed legislation to reform their gender recognition laws, which will come into effect in the foreseeable future.
- Sweden, in July 2025, will be introducing reformed gender self-identification. The new legislation will simplify the medical requirement, away from an invasive gender dysphoria diagnosis, to a simple doctor’s letter and an application of approval from the health board.
- The Czech Republic, also in July 2025, will remove the requirement for sterilisation surgery and compulsory divorce for married transgender people, leaving only a straightforward diagnosis and an application to the local registry office.
Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 – ILGAILGA A driving force for political, legal and social change for LGBTI https://www.ilga-europe.org-Europe Rankings
The changes listed above demonstrate the overall willingness of those countries to improve the legislation and, thus, the lives of transgender people.
This is reflected in the annual report on rights rankings by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe).
Their rankings are based on a percentile scale (out of 100) and indicate how countries have improved or slipped backwards in relation to other countries in the broader European context, not just Western Europe.
Of all the countries identified above, all but three have ratings over 50 percentile points and are as follows:
Malta (87.84%), Iceland (83.02%), Belgium (78.47%), Spain (76.41%), Denmark (76.35%), Finland (70.78%), Greece (70.78%), Luxembourg (70.04%), Norway (69.53%), Portugal (67.14%), Germany (66.13%), Sweden (64.38%), France (62.31%), Ireland (57.17%), Switzerland (50.35%).
It should be noted that 9 out of the top 10 in the ILGA-Europe’s annual report have all implemented legislation to remove legal and medical barriers to the legal recognition of trans people.
Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 – The United Kingdom’s Position
Unfortunately, as of 2024, the United Kingdom currently ranks 16th with a score of 51.88%. In contrast, in 2014, we ranked 1st with a rating of 80.25%.
ILGA-Europe attributes this worsening of tolerance to the LGBTQLGBTQ LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive term that includes people of all genders and sexualities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and allies. While each letter in LGBTQIA+ stands for a specific group of people, the term encompasses the entire spectrum of gender fluidity and sexual identities. https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/what-does-lgbtqia-stand-for-full-acronym-explained.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT+ community, and especially trans people, to a hostile Conservative government, trans-hostile gender-critical organisations who campaign against trans human rights and a right-wing press promoting a culture war.
Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 – Summary
In conclusion, it can be seen that the United Kingdom has fallen behind the rest of Europe in terms of having gender recognition laws that are fit for purpose in the 21st Century. In addition, the United Kingdom has been surrounded by countries with improved rights for several years, and in many cases, it has far exceeded what we currently have in the statute books.
The aggressive approach we have seen from the previous government has only made matters worse for trans people, a demographic that makes up approximately 0.5% of the population. A targeting that was never justifiable when compared to how our European neighbours treat the legal and social standing of trans people in their countries.
A change of direction and governmental attitude towards trans people, bringing us more in line with the rest of Europe, is both necessary and long overdue.
Currently, TransLucent is working with the Labour Government regarding GRA reformGRA Reform Gender Recognition Reform Bill - Scotland https://www.gov.scot/news/gender-recognition-reform-bill/ Published 03 March 2022 09:34 Part of Equality and rights Simplifying how trans people apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. See Also https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/mermaids-manifesto-for-gra-reform/ https://www.stonewall.org.uk/what-does-uk-government-announcement-gender-recognition-act-mean , which is anticipated to take place in 2026/7.
TransLucent.Org.UK December 2024.
Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 – A Briefing Note for MPs
