GRC not fit for purpose

Two significant reports dropped into the Trans* Jersey inbox this week. Both highlight the need for a complete review of the gender recognition process in the UK by which a trans individual “becomes” their recognised gender in the eyes of the law. This is significant for us in Jersey as we have “outsourced” our gender recognition process to any other jurisdiction whose legal system/courts we recognise including and, most usually, the UK.

What is the gender recognition process?

At present, a Jersey trans individual who requires a gender recognition certificate (“GRC”) travels the following route through the UK system:

Live as their recognised gender for two years;
Collect proof that they have been living as their recognised gender for two years, e.g. letter from gender therapist, letter from GP, passport/driving licence showing recognised gender, invoices from utility companies showing title in line with recognised gender, pay slips from employer showing title in line with recognised gender, etc;
Apply to the Gender Recognition Panel (“GRP”) in the UK (although this could be any other jurisdiction that Jersey recognises) including the documentary proof gathered as evidence and a fee of £140;
Wait for the GRP to decide on whether they will issue a GRC. There is no automatic requirement to appear before the panel. The GRP’s judgement is made based on the documents submitted. However, if the documents are not satisfactory, the GRP can call for further evidence that might include an appearance before them;
Once the GRP rule that a GRC can be issued, the GRC must be passed through the Royal Court in Jersey and Jersey will then also issue a GRC.

At this point, the trans individual is their recognised gender legally in Jersey.

The above assumes a trans individual who does not have a spouse. If the trans individual applying for a GRC is married or in a civil partnership, things get more complex. The GRC legislation in England and Wales requires the trans individual to divorce/dissolve the marriage/partnership before a GRC will be granted and, if the spouse disagrees with that, they get to veto the trans spouse’s GRC application.Scottish law does not include this so called “spousal veto”.

Jersey’s same-sex marriage law will be following the Scottish model in allowing someone in a marriage/civil partnership who wishes to transition to do so seamlessly without the requirement to divorce/dissolve the partnership. However, this is then inconsistent with “outsourcing” Jersey’s GRC procedure to a jurisdiction (the UK) that has legislation that includes the spousal veto. This is a problem that the States of Jersey will need to address before 2017 when equal marriage legislation is due to come into force.

So, why bother with a GRC at all?

Some trans people don’t. Changing their gender on their passports is enough to do what they need to do in life. For others, not having their gender legally recognised could be problematic. For example, if the trans person wishes to marry as their recognised gender and not as the gender they were assigned at birth.

Some trans people may also wish to amend all records that show them to be trans and to protect any records that divulge their status from public scrutiny. This may be for reasons of personal safety. A GRC affords those people a greater level of protection in this regard than, say, the data protection or discrimination law. The amendment of records extends to birth certificates. Having a GRC is the only way to amend your birth certificate.

What needs to happen?

The two reports are consistent in their assessment of the GRC process as no longer fit for purpose.

The main criticisms of the system are:

it is long-winded and difficult to navigate;
in practice, it requires evidence of medical treatment before the GRP will grant a GRC, despite this supposedly not being a requirement;
applying to a panel, who may or may not be qualified in gender matters, for recognition of one’s gender identity is inappropriate and humiliating;
the financial cost of the application is greater than the fee of £140 as gathering the evidence required also incurs costs;
it does not allow for someone to identify as neither man nor woman;
the requirement for someone to have lived for two years as their recognised gender before being eligible is arbitrary and unreasonable;
the minimum age limit of 18 is out of line with other legislation that acknowledges young people can make life changing decisions from 16 onwards;
the link between having one’s gender recognised legally and the protection of a trans person’s personal data created by the gender recognition legislation leads to people being inappropriately asked for GRCs before transactions that should not require sight of a GRC will be carried out by employers, government departments, etc.

In short, both reports draw the same conclusion that gender identity should not be based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria but should be self-determined by the person concerned.

The States of Jersey have an golden opportunity now in their work on the same-sex marriage law to do the right thing by the trans community and make the process by which a trans person “becomes” their recognised gender in the eyes of the law simple, affordable, inclusive and self-reporting. Trans* Jersey will be working towards this in 2016.

You can read the full reports here:

UK Trans Info’s report: “Gender Recognition: Where Next?”

House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee: “Transgender Equality”

26 April, 201527 April, 2015 Trans* Jersey

UKIA-Trans* Jersey alliance

Trans* Jersey is very proud to announce that it has become an associate member of the UK Intersex Association (UKIA). The United Kingdom Intersex Association (UKIA) is an education, advocacy, campaigning and support organisation which works on behalf of Intersex people.

UKIA has the following aims:

to educate, inform and campaign in order to remove the shame, secrecy, social prejudice, ignorance and stigmatization that surround Intersex people;
to campaign against the pathologising and medicalisation of Intersex peoples’ lives;
to campaign against the use of surgery and other medical treatments for coercing Intersex people to physically conform to cultural definitions of “normal”;
to campaign against the widespread practice of withholding information from Intersex people regarding the medical implications of being born Intersex, where these exist;
to campaign for the same status and respect for human rights accorded to all others to be equally accorded to Intersex people.

As the above list of aims suggests, there is a lot of work to be done around educating people about what Intersex means and the reality of the lives Intersex people live, not least with the medical profession.

Many of the UKIA aims could apply equally to the trans* community, which is why Trans* Jersey sees this association with the UKIA as a good fit for the work being done in Jersey to improve the lives of all those who, for whatever reason, fall outside of the gender binary.

There are other aims that the UKIA highlights that are unique to the Intersex community and Trans* Jersey hopes to work with the UKIA to educate and inform the general public, the medical profession in Jersey and the States of Jersey about these specific requirements.

To support this work, Trans* Jersey has signed up to the following UKIA principles:

Total opposition to cosmetic surgery on intersex infants in an attempt to “normalise” their appearance;
Rejection of the concept that the human species exists as a physical binary (male & female) model and contends that anything which deviates from this stereotype is “abnormal”;
Accept that all individuals, whatever their identification (male, female, other etc.) are to be respected and have the right to equal opportunities both socially and occupationally;
Support the campaign to secure the rights of intersex people to change their birth registration to match their personal identification, rather than that which was chosen for them;
Rejection of the pathologisation of intersex conditions (such as the use of demeaning terminology e.g. “Hermaphrodite”, “Disorders of Sex Development (DSD)” etc.

It is hoped that together Trans* Jersey and the UKIA can make a difference to our island’s Intersex residents.

15 May, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Summary of UK trans* issues

The following is taken from a paper produced in May 2014 by the UK charity, GIRES. It is a useful summary of the issues facing trans* citizens and the groups working with them for equality.

Introduction

The numbers of transgender people presenting for medical treatment is increasing by 20% pa. This figure rises to 50% for young people. EHRC estimates that 1% of the population fall under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

Transgender people are the victims of unequal treatment under the law. This sets a dreadful example and fuels the discriminatory and sometimes violent and abusive treatment experienced by many trans people.

The current government has chosen to ignore a growing cohort of younger people who do not identify with the gender binary. Many such people have no protection under the 2010 Equality Act and have no mechanism to get appropriate ID. In effect they are being excluded from Society.

Surely in 2015 equality and enjoyment of full Human Rights shouldbe an entitlement of all?

A course of action is requested to achieve the following end state:

(a) having no legislation permitting discrimination on the grounds of gender identity or non gender binary identification;

(b) truly equal marriage;

(d) education for younger people to eliminate prejudice in the longer term; and

(e) new medical treatment models to cope with the rapidly increasing numbers presenting for treatment.

Government must come to realise that people cannot be categorised into neat boxes and its obsession in trying to do so is making life very difficult for many!

A summary of requested actions is given below. [More detail on each section can be found in separate posts]:

1. Legislative revisions [More detail on this can be found here]

Equality Act 2010: Remove any rights to legally discriminate against transgender people. Grant protections to those who do not fit into the gender binary.

Gender Recognition Act 2004: Trans people find the process of having their assertions of gender incongruence checked for truth by the Gender Recognition Panel a degrading and patronising (and also expensive and protracted) process. The Act was introduced to address the lack of same sex marriage in the UK and is no longer relevant, and indeed divisive. Given that gender related discrimination is no longer permitted in the UK, a legal change of gender on birth certificates should be a self driven administrative process.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013: The Spousal Veto must be removed if this remains in the Act when the trans marriage regulations are passed later in 2014. The marriages of couples who were forced to annul and subsequently formed civil partnerships should be reinstated. Government assertions “that the past cannot be rewritten” are hollow given that birth certificates, and soon marriage certificates, can now be altered.

Matrimonial Causes Act 1973: Section 12(h) (non disclosure of gender history) must be withdrawn. Under this provision trans people are singled out for treatment not applied to any other group. Furthermore, as one does not have to disclose (for example) that one is a convicted murderer or married to another) before having sex, why can one be imprisoned for not doing so if one has a trans history?

Application of EU law to pension claimants: Despite very clear and well established superior European Court of Justice case law, the Department of Work and Pensions, supported by some but not all Courts, continues to act unlawfully towards some transgender pension claimants.

2. Non gender binary issues [More detail on this can be found here]

Marriage laws: Gendered language in ceremonies should be optional.

Passports: The introduction of the X marker on passports is long overdue. The conclusion of a recent Passport Office report on this topic was that there is no demand for X markers contradicted the evidence it received.

Birth Certificates: As part of the new provisions following the Gender Recognition Act a mechanism should be introduced to allow the sex classification to be removed or changed or an “X” category added.GIRES encourages direct communication with the appropriate communities.

3. Education [More detail on this can be found here]

It is the experience of GIRES that many in government do not understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. This is vividly demonstrated by married trans people and their spouses “being shoehorned into arrangements for gay and lesbian people” (evidence: Commons Committee Stage, Same Sex Marriage Bill). However, the route to combating transphobia longer term is to introduce awareness training on diversity, early in the education process, in schools.

4. Medical treatment of trans people [More detail on this can be found here]

Despite some recent progress in improved treatment protocols, the growing numbers presenting for medical help are now overwhelming the specialist clinics. Although gender dysphoria is no longer accepted as a psychiatric condition, treatment generally remains under the control of specialist clinics led by psychiatrists. Inappropriate treatment and increasing delays are harming transgender people. New treatment models must be implemented to ensure timely and flexible treatment packages that make best use of the funds available.

Trans* Jersey’s response to the proposals in GIRES’ report

Because so much of Jersey’s transgender and transsexual population’s experience is as a result of having treatment in the UK or acquiring their gender recognition certificate from the UK, these issues affect us, too. Trans* Jersey, therefore, wholly supports the aims and proposals of GIRES and the other trans* organisations working to reform the law in the UK.

To find out more about how Jersey trans* individuals are affected by each of the four proposals listed above, click on the links to more detail where we outline the proposed change in greater depth and explain how we would like to see the States of Jersey tackle these issues.

20 April, 20143 May, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Trans* studies and reports

Studies and reports of relevance when considering anti-discrimination legislation –

GIRES report on trans mental health in the UK (2012)
TGEU and ILGA-Europe report highlights legal and healthcare issues in the EU (2012)
National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay & Lesbian Taskforce report on transgender discrimination in the USA (2011)
GIRES report on gender variance in the UK (2009)
The Equalities Review report on UK trans* people’s experiences of inequality and discrimination (2007)

20 April, 20143 May, 2014 Trans* Jersey

NHS leaflets

This is the range of NHS leaflets available for trans* patients explaining the various aspects of the NHS service –

An introduction to trans* issues
A guide for NHS practitioners treating trans* patients
GIRES guide to your rights to care and treatment under the NHS
A guide to NHS funding and waiting times
A guide to hormone therapy
A guide to lower surgery options and procedures for transwomen
A guide to lower surgery options and procedures for transmen
A guide for families with trans* children or teenagers

19 April, 201431 May, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Transition management

There is very little chance that you will be able to keep your transition a secret in Jersey. The island is small and news of your transition will travel quickly around your friends, family, colleagues and, surprisingly, even people who you don’t know! If you want to transition privately, your best option is to leave the island for a city. However, before you take that step, consider the pros and cons carefully:

Pros

You will pass more often in a city as your gender rather than as transgender
You will have access to a wider range of professionals to support your transition
You will have access to support groups where you can meet other trans* individuals
You can make a fresh start in your new gender

Cons

As well as undergoing the changes to your gender, you will also have to undertake huge changes in your home and work life
You will lose the support network you have in Jersey (friends, family, colleagues)
You may not be eligible for funded healthcare, depending on where you move to
Moving location will add to the cost of your transition

Jersey is a conservative place but it is also, by and large, a tolerant place. The island’s population is a well educated one – our schools consistently get above UK average grades. There are very few hate crimes and people are able to go about their business without interference. Islanders may like to gossip and some of the attitudes you encounter may be a little behind the times but, rarely, are they malicious. The new anti-discrimination legislation due to come into force in September 2015 should improve this situation through education and awareness campaigns. There are worse places in the world to be open about your gender or sexuality.

Telling people

Because news will spread fast in Jersey, you need to plan the order in which you inform people of your transition. You will find that most of your acquaintances will be accepting and supportive of your decision to transition. However, you don’t want to jeopardise that goodwill by people hearing of your news secondhand. We would suggest the following order as a starting point:

Your GP and other members of the medical profession necessary to establish that you wish to transition – this is guaranteed to be in confidence and a necessary first step.
One close friend or family member in whose judgement and discretion you trust – inform them that they are the only one who knows and that you are not telling anyone else for the moment. They will act as a sounding board for your thoughts and feelings. If you do not have access to someone suitable using an Internet forum specifically for trans* people where you can ask questions of other trans* individuals can provide the same support.
You can stop at this point until you are ready to come out as transgender. Once you are ready to come out, the next steps should follow in quick succession (i.e. within days of each other). Make sure that you inform each person you tell of who knows your news, apart from them, and what your timetable is for telling others.
Your advocate – this is guaranteed to be in confidence and the first public step you will have to take. Your deed poll should take about a week to process and pass through the Royal Court. It is not one of the Royal Court procedures announced in the Business Brief.
Your closest friends and family – try to do this face to face if possible. They will be the ones most concerned by your transition because they love you and the ones who require the most reassurance. Have some sources of factual information prepared for them (e.g. a self-help book, a lists of websites offering advice, a handout of basic facts that you have written, an open letter explaining your journey to this decision) to help with their understanding of what you are going through and to demonstrate that you take your transition seriously and have done your research.
Your line manager or, if more suitable, your personnel manager at work – the process for coming out at work is discussed in more detail below.
Your work colleagues, extended family members and casual acquaintances/friends – email makes this process much easier than it used to be. On the day that you inform your work colleagues, plan to send an email to your extended family members and casual acquaintances/friends. The email can be relatively brief but be sure to include your new name and the pronouns (he/him/his, she/her/her, they/them/their) you would like people to use from now onwards. You may also wish to explain your journey to this decision and provide some links to websites offering advice. This is the day that you will really feel that you have come out and you will, in all likelihood, find it a positive experience as most people will respond with messages of good wishes and congratulations.

Transition management at work

In the workplace, you should expect the following considerations from the manager that you first approach with the news of your transition:

They take a non-judgemental stance
They are available if you need to talk
They support your plan for coming out to your colleagues
They assist in educating co-workers
They allow for mood changes caused by hormone therapy
They work with you to plan time off for surgery
They treat you no differently than they would other colleagues of that gender
They always use your new name and gender pronoun
They take appropriate disciplinary steps with co-workers who do not respect your gender
They remind co-workers that it is not their job to ‘out’ you to new employees joining the company
They inform you of anyone else that they are obliged to inform of your news and get your agreement to do so

In consultation with your manager, agree on the plan for telling your colleagues. You should plan to tell colleagues within a matter of days from telling your manager. There should be no reason for the manager to delay:

Set a date on which everyone will be told (all at once). Don’t allow the news to spread by gossip.
Find a method of telling everyone the same information at once. Email is probably the best way to do this so that staff who work remotely also hear at the same time. Keep the information clear and factual.
You may wish to undertake a presentation about gender issues to all staff in which a Q&A can happen. Only the most confident/comfortable trans* individuals are likely to undertake this but it can be a great way to get your colleagues comfortable with your news. Discuss this possibility with your manager.
You may wish to take holiday whilst your colleagues get used to your news so that your return to work marks a clear date on which you are dressed as your preferred gender and referred to by your new name/pronouns. Discuss this possibility with your manager.
Your manager may wish to offer all members of staff the opportunity to talk to them and air their concerns about the change. This is a good idea as it can stop any negative comments early on and the manager can get a feel for which employees might need anti-discrimination training.

Below is a sample email that can be adapted by you and your manager to send to other employees:

I have been asked by John Bunbury to write to you to inform you that he is starting a process of gender reassignment from male to female.

From [date], his name will change from John to Elizabeth (Liz). Liz has also asked to be referred to by female pronouns (she, her, hers) from this date.

I ask all employees to respect Liz’s wishes and to use her correct name and pronouns. I also ask that you respect Liz’s right to privacy and that you do not discuss this with other employees. Should you wish to discuss the matter, please arrange to see me in confidence.

[Optional] A presentation about gender issues will be held on [date], which all employees are expected to attend. Further details to follow.

[Optional] Liz is currently on holiday and will be returning on [date].

Toilets and changing rooms

One of the areas that gets people into difficulties is communal facilities that are gender segregated. You should expect to receive the following courtesies from your manager:

They should ask you which facility you would like to use.
They should offer to provide you with a gender-neutral option, but not force you to use one.
If other members of staff complain about the arrangements, they should educate them.

If your manager does not get this right, be patient with them because it will be due to lack of experience in dealing with trans* issues. Explain that you are the most vulnerable person in this situation not your colleagues and that using facilities designated for the opposite gender is one of the most daunting aspects of transitioning. Remind them that:

Digressing gender norms does not make you sexual predator.
The majority of sexual assaults in the world are perpetrated by cisgender (non-trans) men.
Even in the gents, you rarely, if ever, see other people’s genitalia when using public facilities.
Transwomen are put at risk of being physically assaulted by men when using men’s facilities.

Uniforms

If your organisation has a uniform:

Ensure that your manager arranges for a uniform matching your new gender to be provided as soon as possible.
The uniform may need to be altered fit. Your employer should offer to fund this for you but check company policy for whether this is covered for cisgender employees. If not, you are unlikely to get it covered either. (Transwomen may be broader in the shoulders, transmen may be shorter in the leg, than standard sizing.)
Agree a point in time when you will commence wearing your new uniform.

Health and safety

If appropriate to your work and your transition, you should discuss the following issues with your manager to ensure that they are aware that some of your duties may need to be adjusted as your transition progresses:

Hormone therapy brings about physical changes. Be aware that if you are an MtF manual worker you will not be able to lift the weight you used to.
Following surgery you may return to work but may not yet be capable of carrying out all your normal duties. Take medical advice about recovery times and appraise your manager of them.

Finally, Jersey does not currently have appropriate legislation to protect trans* workers’ rights. This is due to be introduced in September 2015. However, the States of Jersey appear to be modelling their new law on the UK Equality Act, so be aware that:

In the vast majority of cases, the gender of a worker is of no relevance to their ability to do a particular job. However, the Equality Act 2010 does allow for an exception where being of a particular sex is an ‘occupational requirement’ of that post. It might apply where the work necessarily involves conducting intimate searches, or where services are provided to one gender only, such as a women’s refuge.
The Equality Act makes it clear that the employer must act reasonably in applying an occupational requirement. For example, conducting intimate searches is unlikely to be a main part of any particular post. The employer must consider whether these tasks could be carried out by someone else. Also, the occupational requirement must be identified at the beginning of the recruitment process and stated in the application pack.
If an employee who is intending to transition permanently works in a single sex position or organisation, it is probably best for the employee, the employer and any service users if redeployment can be negotiated. Employers should make sure that options are discussed early on, to reach the best outcome.
Don’t forget that a person with a Gender Recognition Certificate is legally of that sex for all purposes.

Guides to managing your transition at work –
UNISON
GIRES
Stonewall
a:Gender
National Institute of Economic and Social Research
The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services