Countries to be removed from UK’s gender recognition list over self-ID laws
A number of countries’ Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs) will no longer be recognised by the UK government, it has been announced.
Kemi Badenoch, who is both the Women and Equalities minister and the Business Secretary, told MPs that countries where self-identification policies for transgender people have been adopted will be removed from its list of approved regions. “This is long overdue,” she said on 6 December. “The list of approved overseas countries and territories was last updated in 2011.” Badenoch continued: “We are doing this because there are some countries and territories on the list who have made changes to their systems and would not now be considered to have similarly rigorous systems as the UK. “Inadvertently allowing self-ID for obtaining GRCs is not government policy. “It should not be possible for a person who does not satisfy the criteria for UK legal gender recognition to use the overseas routes to do so.” READ MORE: What are trans self-ID laws and what impact do they have? People travelling from places on the approved list do not have to provide medical reports when applying for gender recognition in the UK.
Now, countries and territories where laws allowing people to self-identify have been introduced will be removed from it. Scotland’s gender reform bill was blocked by the UK government Self-identification allows trans people to determine their gender without the need of any medical certificates or a gender dysphoria diagnosis.
Scotland’s gender reforms to allow this were blocked from becoming law by the UK government at the start of this year, much to the dismay of many LGBTQIA+ rights campaigners.
