The current requirements for changing the sex on your birth certificate in England are (copied directly from: https://www.gov.uk/apply-gender-recognition-certificate/changing-your-gender):
- be 18 or over
- be diagnosed with gender dysphoria (unhappiness with your birth gender)
- have lived as your new gender for 2 years
- intend to live in your changed gender for the rest of your life
- apply to the Gender Recognition Panel
- be diagnosed with gender dysphoria (unhappiness with your birth gender)
- have lived as your new gender for 2 years
- intend to live in your changed gender for the rest of your life
- apply to the Gender Recognition Panel
For transgender youth such as myself this creates a problem. Many of us are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, have lived as our gender for two years and intend to live this way for the rest of our lives. I am 14 right now, this means I must wait another 4 years to change my birth certificate.
Transgender youth are not going through a phase, we know who we are and deserve to be recognized as the gender we know we are on our birth certificate and other documents. Seeing the wrong sex on our birth certificates and other documents is very upsetting for transgender youth such as myself.
I would like to see the British government change this policy to one similar to the British Columbia Canada, where with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and parental approval for minors can change their birth certificates to reflect who they truly are. (More information can be found here: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/vital-statistics/government-id/bc-services-card/change-your-personal-information) Please sign this petition, to support transgender youth in England.
