Push for reform on gender rights
New group puts spotlight on social issues
A NEW Tasmanian transgender rights group is seeking a raft of reforms to remove gender discrimination from Tasmanian law.
The nonpartisan group, Transforming Tasmania, is riding on the success of last year’s “Yes” marriage equality vote to buoy support for their cause.
The group hopes to address a number of social issues faced by the state’s transgender, intersex and gender diverse people.
Dede River, a spokeswoman for Transforming Tasmania, said: “The reforms we seek are based on principles of equality, dignity and autonomy.”
“They are issues of basic human rights,” she said.
“We are entitled to be able to express our identities and have those identities acknowledged and respected. “This is not radical.” The group is seeking four amendments to the law, including: changing the need for forced divorce in order for lived gender identities to be recognised; changing the current requirement for corrective genital surgery as a precursor to altering legal documents; the removal of gender from documents, or alternatively to provide options that reflect the full range of gender identities, including nonbinary and others; and introducing a guardianship board or similar to oversee surgery or medical interventions for intersex children.
“This is not a political issue, this is an issue about people,” said transgender rights activist Martine Delaney.
“It’s a social issue about people whose lives are affected by discriminatory legislation.”
A requirement from last year’s marriage equality law has meant the State Government must amend the marriage act before December 9.
The Transforming Tasmania group is hoping their suggestions will be implemented at the same time as the amendment.
“The issue of forced divorce for changing our legal identity documents is an important issue but it’s only one of several issues that need to be addressed,” Ms River said.
“And since we have to address the one, the time to address all of them is now.
“For most people, under our current laws, we have to either live for years or permanently without having our official documents matching our actual lived gender identity.”