On March 31st, the Hungarian Government introduced a bill to Parliament that seeks to ban transgender people from changing their gender legally. March 31st is globally recognised as the International Transgender Day of Visibility. The amendment to the Registry Act bases the gender registered at birth on primary sex characteristics and chromosomes, and also prevents any change to that registration later in a person’s life. The bill passed Parliament, and was signed into law at the end of May.
The law has been condemned by various human rights organisations, and has been described as a major “violation” of transgender and intersex people’s rights. Prior to the introduction of the bill, the Hungarian government faced criticism for its inability to successfully fight against systemic discrimination and hate crimes against members of the transgender community.
Following the Parliamentary vote, activists have voiced concerns claiming that, under the new regime, there is a greater risk of transgender people being exposed to discriminatory and humiliating situations. This is primarily due to the requirement in Hungary to display one’s identification documents when engaging in many day-to-day activities.
LEGAL GENDER RECOGNITION IN EUROPE
Previously in Hungary, transgender individuals submitted an application to the Office of Budapest, Citizenship and Registration Department to amend their gender on their identity documents, but only on the condition that a favourable expert opinion of a psychiatrist specialised in trans identities was provided. Since 2017, gender recognition procedures have been suspended in Hungary.
Hungary was not alone; several jurisdictions across Europe require medical diagnosis demonstrating that the applicant suffers from a form of gender identity disorder or transsexualism as a precondition for accepting an application for gender change.
According to the Trans Rights Europe & Central Asia Index, there are 41 countries in Europe and Central Asia that allow for legal gender recognition, 31 of which require a mental health diagnosis. On the other hand, those jurisdictions which do not impose such requirements allow applicants to change their gender marker on grounds of self-determination. Furthermore ,out of those 41 countries, 13 require mandatory sterilisation as a precondition for an application.
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
This new law makes it impossible for a transgender individual to change their gender from that recorded at birth. The Háttér Society, a Hungarian trans rights group, has criticised the law for “violating international human rights norms”, and has called for a review. Other international organisations and bodies, including the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, have called on Hungary to revise its legislative agenda, and align it to internationally recognised human rights standards. However, the European Commission has indicated in a statement that the “conditions and procedures for legal gender recognition fall outside the scope of European Union law.”
It is yet to be seen whether the voices of the domestic and international community will be heard and listened to by Hungarian policy makers.
Victoria is a full-time law student and part-time market intelligence research assistant. She was born and raised in Moldova shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. From an early age, she hoped of living the "democratic dream" of the West. She pursued a university degree in the UK and now holds an MA in International Relations and Sociology awarded by the University of Aberdeen. She is currently studying the accelerated LL.B in Aberdeen. Following graduation she intends on undertaking a master's degree and pursuing a career in international law.