Family Law and The Gender Recognition Act

It seems most odd that one of the most radical and far reaching pieces of legislation which has come into force over the last decade has passed all but un noticed by the general public.

The Gender Recognition Act came into force on 3 April 2004 and for the first time people who are transsexual or transgender can find legal recognition for their new gender even to the extent of having their birth certificate altered to extinguish all evidence of their birth gender.

This means that, in effect, particularly in relation to transsexuals they can live in and as their chosen gender with no boundaries or hurdles of an official nature to throw the fact of their ‘difference’ in their face. They can now legally marry or enter into a Civil Partnership in their chosen Gender and will have it recognised on all official documents such as Passports etc.

Until 2007 there are two ways in which a Gender Recognition Certificate can be obtained. An applicant must apply to the Gender Recognition Panel with a fairly simply application form. The Application can be made under the Fast Track or Standard Track (After 03.04.07 only the Standard Track will be available).

The main differences between the Fast Track and Standard Track relate to the time for which the applicant must have lived in their chosen gender and the medical evidence which needs to be supplied. For the Fast Track the applicant must have been living in their chosen gender for at least 6 years, for the Standard Track only 2. For the Fast Track only one medical report is required, for the Standard Track two are required.

In order to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate the Applicant must file an application form which is available from the Gender Recognition Team. PO Box 476, Southport, PR8 2WJ; 0151 4714821; grcorrespondence@ons.gsi.gov.uk or from the Gender Recognition Panel web site www.grp.gov.uk/.

The Application form itself is as straightforward as it can be and is accompanied by excellent notes which not only tell the applicant what is needed to complete the form but why it is needed and what the information will be used for after the application is completed.

The Application form asks for

• Contact details
• The name which is to appear on the certificate
• National Insurance Number. The applicant can elect for the Gender Recognition Panel to automatically inform the authorities such as the Inland Revenue of the new details once a Certificate is awarded.
  
• A password which ensures that the application process remains at all times confidential
  
• Details of the new registration details which are to appear on the new birth certificate
  
• The amount of time the applicant has spent living in their chosen gender. This has to be evidenced by production of documents, for example letters addressed in the new name etc.
• A medical report (or two if under the Standard Track) More details will be provided later.
• Details of the medical practitioner who made the report and authority for the Panel to contact them
  
• A statutory declaration confirming
  • That the Applicant is over 18 years of age
  • That the Applicant has lived continuously in their chosen gender for the required amount of time
  • That the Applicant intends to live continuously in their chosen gender for the rest of their lives
  • Whether the Applicant is married or in a Registered Civil Partnership
    
  • I the Applicant is applying for a reduced fee then certification that their income is under £15050 or between £15050 and £2257.

The medical report must is all circumstances be produced by a registered medical practitioner or a chartered psychologist. In all cases a chartered psychologist must specialise in the field of gender dysphoria but the medical practitioner in certain circumstances (see below) need not be and can therefore be the Applicant’s GP.

In Fast Track cases only one medical report needs to be produced. If the Applicant has undergone surgery then the report can be done either by a chartered psychologist or by a medical practitioner who need not be a specialist and must contain details of any treatment, including surgery which has been undergone and any further treatment or surgery which is planned for the future.

If the Applicant has not undergone surgery then the medical report must be compiled by either a chartered psychologist or a medical practitioner with specific expertise in gender dysphoria and must include details of the diagnosis of gender dysphoria. It must also include details of treatment received or planned and if no treatment and explanation of why not.

In Standard Track cases two medical reports must be filed. The first report must be complied by a chartered psychologist or medical practitioner specialising in gender dysphoria and must contain details of the diagnosis of gender dysphoria. The second report must be compiled by a specialist chartered psychologist or a medical practitioner who need not be a specialist and must include specific details of and treatment undergone or planned including whether or not surgery has or is planned to be undergone.

The application form must be sent to the Gender Recognition Team with the requisite fee which is £140. This can be reduced in the Applicant is on a low income. If the Applicant is in receipt of Income Support, Pension Credit Guarantee, Income based Job Seeker’s Allowance, or if they have a gross income of less than £15,050 and are in receipt of Working Tax Credit with disability element or Child Tax Credit then there is no fee. If the Applicant had a gross income of over £15,050 but less than £22,575 then the fee is £30. The fees apply whether the Applicant is seeking a full or interim Cerificate.

In most cases the Applicant will be asking for a full Gender Recognition Certificate. However, if the Applicant is party to a legal marriage then they will not be able to obtain a full certificate unless the marriage is ended. This is because the legal definition of marriage is the joining together of one man and one woman, and therefore if the partnership becomes two men or two women the validity of the marriage is undermined.

An interim certificate will not allow the Applicant to change their birth certificate and will not be recognised for all purposes as a full certificate would. The main effect of an interim certificate is to render an existing marriage voidable thereby enabling the parties to the marriage to have the same annulled under a shortened procedure. Once the marriage is dissolved the Applicant may then apply on a simple form, providing evidence of the dissolution of the marriage, for a full certificate.

In cases where parties to a marriage have annulled the marriage in this way but in effect wish to stay married then they can immediately enter into a Registered Civil Partnership without having to give notice and wait the 15 days required ‘waiting period’.

Once a full certificate has been granted the Gender Recognition Panel will send the Applicant a draft of how the entry into the Gender Recognition Register will look. The Gender Recognition Register is a brand new register to be kept in the register office alongside the General Marriage Register. This register unlike the general register is not a public document and is not open to examination by the public.

Once the Applicant approves the draft the Registrar General is notified and he authorises the appropriate Register office for the entry to be made. Details of how to obtain a new birth certificate will be provided to the Applicant with the draft details together with a note of the costs. A short form certificate will be provided free.

There is a confidential link between the Gender Recognition Register and the General Register and so there should be at no stage and in any way anything appearing on the birth certificate or in any subsequently issues certificate to identify it as having been altered.

The GR Panel also notify the Inland Revenue and Benefits agency as appropriate to amend their official records and to all intents and purposes the chance into the whole new person will be officially complete.

After so many years of a complete lack of recognition it must be very liberating to know that not only does the government recognise that such things as transsexuals and transgenders exist but also provides them with an place in society, that place being exactly where they want to be, as ‘in your face’ or invisible as they wish, the choice being theirs and not ours.

I can’t say that I will ever have need to take advantage of this new legislation but I am glad that I seem to be living in a society which is just a little more liberal and a little less oppressive than it was before 03.04.05.