Birth certificate gender changes 'will protect trans people from being outed'

Saturday, 11 August 2018

Recommended updates to the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995 would make it easier for people to change the gender recorded on their birth certificate (file photo).

A process to make gender changes on birth certificates easier will protect people from being 'outed' as transgender, a group representing trans and gender diverse children says.

The Governance and Administration Committee has recommended allowing adults and 16- and 17-year-olds to make a statutory declaration regarding their recorded gender directly to the Registrar-General rather than go through the Family Court.

An updated clause in the act would also enable an eligible child's guardian to complete a similar statutory declaration on the child's behalf.

Parents and Caregivers of Transgender and Gender Diverse Children spokeswoman Sharyn Forsyth said: 'Given birth certificates are a generally accepted form of identity, being able to amend the gender marker to match their lived identity protects them from being 'outed' as transgender.

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'Research tells us that supporting our children in their affirmed gender leads to the best outcomes for their mental health, in a context where transgender children are at increased risk of suicide and self harm due to lack of societal acceptance.'

The changes were also welcomed by Gender Minorities Aotearoa.

Spokeswoman Sally Dellow said the 'small but significant' changes would make a huge difference, particularly to those without resources to go through the Family Court.

'Most people in our communities can change their New Zealand passport or driver licence, but it does not match their birth certificate. That can cause significant problems when a birth certificate needs to be shown as proof of identity,' she said.

The Governance and Administration Committee outlined its recommendations regarding the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act (BDMRRA)1995 in a report published on Friday.

'This law was progressive in 1995 but is now outdated and inconsistent with global developments. We recommend replacing the Family Court process with an administrative process based on self-identification,' it said.

After statutory declarations were made, the proposed new clause would also require the Registrar-General to register the nominated sex if all requirements had been met.

The committee also recommended including gender options of intersex and X (unspecified).

'By including these as registrable options the bill would recognise non-binary sexual and gender identities,' the committee said.

Under the new clause people would only be able change their nominated sex once, except in special circumstances.

However, the committee recommended all applicants should be able to apply to revert to the sex recorded at birth.

It also recommended removing all references to 'medical treatment', 'medical evidence', 'physical conformation', 'sexual assignment', and 'sexual reassignment' from the bill.

The minimum requirements needed to change recorded gender would help ensure people fully understood the consequences of the change.

Extra requirements were advised for changing the nominated sex of people under 18 years old, which the committee believed would protect children.

Overall, the proposed administrative process would 'allow people to have greater autonomy over their identity and would make it easier for people to change their registered sex,' the committee said.

Dellow said: 'This makes a huge difference to takatāpui, trans and non-binary people when they get married, have children, sign their parent's death certificate, or have to show their birth certificate. It has no impact on the equivalent rights for other people.'

An administrative process would reduce cost for individuals and free up the time of the courts and health professionals who supplied required medical evidence, Dellow said.

Forsyth said the changes were a 'critical step in enabling parents to support their children to live happy, safe and productive lives in their affirmed gender'.

'Currently, changing a gender marker for a young person under the age of 18 requires an intrusive process overseen by the Family Court. The Court is required to specify medical treatment for the young person.

'The process is costly and intimidating for families and presents a barrier to doing what current psychological best practice tells us to do for our transgender young ones - supporting them to live normal lives … We applaud the select committee for listening to our concerns and for helping us keep our vulnerable children safe.'