Dutch Ministers will not execute extended transgender law in the Netherlands; we can only encourage this and hope this is the beginning of the end of these Homophobic Troons.
In de Tweede Kamer deelde ik mijn bezwaren tegen de motie, die ik zowel inhoudelijk als procedureel onbehoorlijk vind. Het transgender wetsvoorstel en de transgenderpersonen om wie het gaat verdienen een debat.
— Franc Weerwind (@ministervRB) April 23, 2024
What does the new transgender law entail? Five questions and answers
Should someone be able to change their gender in their passport at the town hall? The House of Representatives will consider this question today. Parliament will discuss the so-called transgender law tonight.
This law has existed for much longer and has already been relaxed several times. The government now wants to introduce further adjustments—five questions and answers.
1. What does the new law say?
One of the most critical adjustments concerns the gender stated on the birth certificate. The passport is issued based on that certificate. Every passport contains the designation V (female), M (male), or X (gender neutral). Anyone who wants to change that designation now still needs an expert statement; this will be abolished in the new law. It is, therefore, possible to receive an ‘X,’ but this must be laid down in law and arranged through the courts.
A second significant change concerns the age limit. The new law also allows young people under 16 to have their gender registration changed, which is not possible now. However, the law states that children must first go to court for this.
Opponents of the law see this adjustment, in particular, as a problem. They point out that a child under 16 is still under parental authority and believes the child cannot make a good decision.
Transgender organizations – and some parents – say that many trans children live according to a gender other than their birth gender in their daily lives, even before the age of 16. According to them, the fact that the passport does not ‘show’ this only leads to difficult situations.
Then, a third adjustment relating to location was proposed. Anyone who wants to change the registration must do so in the municipality of birth. The bill allows someone to go to the city hall in their residence.
2. What does the new procedure entail?
The expert statement, which a doctor or psychologist can issue, is no longer necessary. If the House of Representatives adopts the adjustments, the declaration will be replaced by a reflection period of at least four weeks.
Under the new law, a trans person sends the request to the municipality. Then, the cooling-off period of at least 4 (and a maximum of 12) weeks starts. Someone then comes to the town hall, and the change is ratified. An adjustment does not mean that someone is given priority for medical treatment at a gender clinic; that is entirely separate.
Transgender activists have long called for the abolition of expert testimony. They believe that the statement infringes on their right to self-determination. Moreover, there are costs involved: a consultation with an expert costs about 250 euros, and the statement itself costs 65 euros. An evaluation of the law from 2017 also showed that experts cannot guarantee that the desire to switch is sustainable.
The new law also stipulates that a third or fourth adjustment must be made through the court.
According to CBS, hundreds of people changed their gender registration in 2016, 2017, and 2018. This concerned 460, 530, and 640 people, respectively.
An assessment of the years between 2012 and 2016 showed that out of a group of 1,923 people, six later wanted to undo the change.
3. What preceded the bill?
As mentioned, transgender law has a long history. Before 2014, the law stipulated that anyone who wanted to change their gender registration had to be sterilized. Transgender people, therefore, became permanently infertile. The old law was applied from 1985 to 2014, and last year, the government apologized for this.
The previous government also wanted to focus on the emancipation of trans people and came up with a new bill. The Council of State issued advice on this last May. The advisory body concluded that the government had not properly explained in the proposal why the age limit should be abolished. The Council of State was, therefore, not against the limit but found the cabinet’s substantiation insufficient.
Research agency Panteia also conducted research into the Dutch situation. The agency investigated, among other things, the gender-neutral designation ‘X.’
4. And what about the ‘X’ designation?
At the beginning of this year, D66 MP Lisa van Ginneken came up with an amendment to this. She wanted the bill to also include the idea that people could receive an ‘X’ (gender neutral) without court intervention. However, that became too legally complicated, so the Council of State advised the submission of a separate bill.
Anyone who wants the designation X in their passport must go to court. However, because there is no legal provision for this, such requests are still rejected.
5. How is it arranged in other countries?
If the Netherlands adopts the change in law, it will not be the first country to do so.
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