First gender recognition in Georgia
On March 25 Georgian authorities allowed the first-ever legal gender recognition for a transgender person in the country.
According to Woman’s Initiatives supporting group (WISG), the Civil Registry Service Development Agency officially changed the gender from ‘’male’’ to ‘’female’’ upon request by a trans woman, who also submitted medical certificate of gender reassignment surgery.
‘’I changed my name even before the surgery and that was the main moment for me. Imagine looking like a girl while having a name of a boy. Most of my trans friends change their names too because this is the maximum that is possible to do without the surgical intervention required by law. It was an amazing moment when I wrote down the name everyone knew me by. It was my personal name and It was the first joy.’’’- says transgender woman.
The CSO noted that there are no legislative or administrative tools for legal gender recognition to date in Georgia, and the recent decision only follows the country practices that have no legal basis.
These practices restrict recognition of trans people who are not willing to undergo specific medical procedures which also goes against international standards, including those developed by European Court of Human Rights.
Lika thinks the fact that the state recognizes the identities of transgender people only after sex reassignment surgery is in itself a big interference in the private space.
It is also significant to mention that unregulated gender recognition process raises unemployment and poverty risks for trans people, encourages their marginalization and makes them even more prone to transphobia-induced crimes and discrimination, CSO warned.
