At a time when other European countries are slowing down on this controversial subject and after months of sometimes heated debate within the ruling left, Spanish deputies definitively adopted, on Thursday February 16, a law allowing free change of gender. from 16 years old. The battle horse of the radical left party Podemos, an ally of the socialists in the government of Pedro Sánchez, this so-called law “transgender” allows people who wish to change their gender on their identity papers via a simple administrative declaration from the age of 16.
It will therefore no longer be necessary to provide medical reports attesting to gender dysphoria and proof of hormonal treatment followed for two years, as was the case until now for adults. The text – adopted by 191 votes to 60 with 91 abstentions – also extends this right to 14-16 year olds, provided that they are accompanied in the procedure by their legal guardians, as well as to 12-14 year olds, if they get the green light from justice.
Spain thus joins the few countries in the world authorizing gender self-determination via a simple declaration, like Denmark, the first country to have granted this right in Europe to transgender people in 2014. “Today we took a giant step” recognizing the “self-determination of gender identity”launched Podemos Minister for Equality Irene Montero, defending a law that “depathologized” transgender people.
The debate over gender dysphoria, that is, the distress caused by a mismatch between a person’s biological sex and the gender with which a person identifies, has gained momentum in many countries in recent years with the increase in requests for transition, particularly among minors.
Decline of certain countries out of “caution”
But the adoption of this law in Spain comes at a time when several countries, some of which were hitherto at the forefront on the subject, are slowing down. In Sweden, the authorities decided a year ago to put an end to hormone therapy for minors, except in very rare cases, citing the need to demonstrate ” caution “. They have also come to drastically restrict the use of breast removal for teenage girls.
In Sweden, hormonal treatments on minors now reserved for research
In 1972, Sweden was the first country in the world to recognize “gender dysphoria”. Five decades later, in February 2022, the National Directorate for Health and Social Affairs in Stockholm issued new recommendations, for minors. Believing that “the risks of puberty-inhibiting and gender-affirming hormone treatment for those under 18 currently outweigh the possible benefits for the group as a whole”she calls for showing ” detention “. Hormones may still be administered to minors, but only “in the context of research”.
This decision comes as the number of diagnoses of gender dysphoria has exploded in recent years, especially among teens aged 13 to 17 born girls, where the increase reached 1,500% between 2008 and 2018. In May 2021, the Astrid Lindgren Pediatric Hospital in Stockholm decided to limit hormone treatments to clinical studies, arguing that the “knowledge about the long-term effects is lacking[aient] ».
In Finland, a similar decision was taken as early as 2020 on hormone therapy, while in France, the Academy of Medicine called for “great medical caution” in the treatment of young patients and “the greatest reserve” on hormonal treatments.
Finally, the United Kingdom last month blocked a Scottish law on transgender rights, similar to that of Spain, adopted at the end of December by the Edinburgh parliament after heated debate. This episode weakened Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation on Wednesday, after a heated controversy arose from the incarceration in a women’s prison of a transgender woman convicted of raping two women before her transition.
Fierce opposition from the right
In Spain, the law “trans” sparked fierce opposition from the right. “We are not here to experiment with people… We see countries backtracking because they now see that they rushed in, which caused a lot of suffering. Let’s not do the same”insisted Thursday Maria Jesus Moro, deputy of the Popular Party.
But this text has also caused deep divisions within the left and the feminist movement, as the country prepares for general elections at the end of the year. The text has been ardently defended by Podemos and by the largest LGBT organization in Spain, FELGBTI+, which hopes, according to its president Uge Sangil, that this law “will encourage other countries to follow” I’” example “ Spanish.
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But other, dissonant voices have been heard on the left, with some feminists believing that the notion of gender self-determination jeopardizes decades of struggle for gender equality. “To claim gender as being above biological sex (…) seems like a step backwards to me”denounced the former number two of the Sánchez government, Carmen Calvo.
The Socialists tried to amend the text to extend the obligation of a green light from justice to 14-16 year olds but did not find enough support in Parliament. “Open that door” gender transition “without any restriction to children seems rushed to me” And ” very dangerous “commented for his part Reem Alsalem, UN special rapporteur on violence against women, in an interview with the Madrid daily El Mundo.
Vote for menstrual leave, a first in Europe
On the same day, the Spanish deputies voted definitively, by 185 votes against 154 and 3 abstentions, a law creating a “menstrual leave” for women suffering from painful menstruation, an unprecedented measure in Europe. “It’s a historic day for feminist advances”, launched on Twitter Equality Minister Irene Montero, member of Podemos.
The duration of sick leave that doctors may grant to women suffering from painful menstruation has not been specified in the new law.