GENDER RECOGNITION: OVER 100 people attended Ireland’s first public rally calling for legal gender recognition last Saturday.Colourful banners with the slogans “Human Rights Are My Pride”, “Don’t Legislate my Genitals” and “Someone I love is Trans” were held up outside Leinster House at the rally marking the International Day for Trans and Intersex Depathologisation.
The day also marked the fifth anniversary of the High Court’s ruling in the Lydia Foy case, where Ireland was found to be in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights for failing to provide gender recognition.
The Transgender Education and Advocacy group, along with other activists, organised the demonstration to call upon Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton to provide gender recognition legislation that does not include pathologisation of transgender individuals.
Organisers are concerned that draft legislation may require those wishing to have their gender change officially recognised to have a diagnosis of gender identity disorder or to present evidence of gender reassignment surgery.
Organiser Cat McIlroy told the crowd that transgender people were “still waiting for recommendations that will be respectful and reflect the realities of trans people rather than requiring a gender identity disorder diagnosis or that individuals would need to be single, so that if you are married or are civil partnered you will have to divorce or have your partnership dissolved”.
Ireland is one of only two EU countries that does not provide a mechanism for gender recognition of transgender individuals.
Several European delegates taking part in Ireland’s first hosting of the ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association) European conference last week also attended the meeting in support.