Legal affirmation | Transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children
This blog post is a part of the resource – Supporting Transgender, Non-binary and Gender diverse Children & Young People, created by Felicity St John and Felicity’s collaborator and fellow Master of Sexology student Lindsay SmithFelicity, during a placement with Sex Ed Rescue in 2024.
Felicity St John has a Master of Sexology (Professional) with Distinction and a Bachelor of Human Services – Child and Family Studies. She currently works for an NGO as a supervisor of four practitioners, coaching and case managing families facing complex challenges. Felicity also offers professional development and consultancy. Her professional interest areas are sex education, puberty, LGBTQI+ people, child development, transgender/non-binary/gender-diverse people, relationship coaching, family coaching, and parenting psychoeducation. Felicity has a passion for supporting people to step into their capacity. When she’s not working Felicity loves to laugh, play, be with loves ones, rock climb, SUP board, explore nature, read, write, hike, cycle, swim, and laze about like a cat. You can contact Felicity via email.
Legal affirmation is when a transgender or non-binary person can use the name and/or gender marker that aligns with their gender legally in different systems. Legal affirmation is a critical component of trans health.
Legal affirmation includes:
- Updating a gender marker to the one that aligns with the person’s gender
- A name update and/or gender marker on a birth certificate
- A name and/or gender marker update on a license
- A name update on school records, the roll call,
- A gender marker being updated on school records
- An update of your name and/or gender markers with a public medical insurance scheme
- A public hospital using the name, gender marker, and pronouns that align with your gender
- Social security documentation aligning with your gender
- An updated name and/or gender marker in legal contracts, like a phone plan
- An electoral roll reflecting your gender marker and name
- Being able to get married as your gender in documentation
- Having police use your updated name and/or gender markers and pronouns
- If spending time in prison, being in the facility with other people your gender
People may experience structural or individual barriers to accessing legal affirmation. Not being able to access legal affirmation may create situations where transgender and non-binary people experience stigma and risk. Different geographical locations require different prerequisites for different types of legal affirmation.
For example, in my state, you don’t need to have completed any gender-affirming surgery to change the gender marker on your birth certificate if you were born in this state. But if you were born in the next state, which is only a 10-minute drive away, you need to have verification you have completed genital reconfiguration surgery on your reproductive organs. And by that, they mean bottom surgery. Top surgery doesn’t suffice.
Resources
- How I Legally Changed My Name by (Jammidodger) 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJbvIvtqfZM United Kingdom. YouTube. 00:12:26.
- I’m Legally Male! Gender Recognition Certificate UK by Alex Bertie 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd9Ybh_r8pQ United Kingdom. YouTube.00:07:27.
- Legal Affirmation – Amend my ID, Know my Rights by TransHub 2021. https://www.transhub.org.au/legal
References
- A Scoping Review Examining Social and Legal Gender Affirmation and Health Among Transgender Populations by King and Gamarel 2021.
- What is Gender Affirmation by Trans Hub 2021.
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