In what the report calls the 'most progressive countries' individuals can elect to change their legal gender without the need for medical diagnoses or court determination. Norway is the most liberal, with legal gender recognition being available at any age, although with conditions for different age groups. For example, minors under the age of 6 can have their legal gender altered only if they are intersex.
By contrast, in the UK,' trans people must endure a lengthy, complex and expensive process to have the opportunity to change their legal gender'. The requirement under the Gender Recognition Act for two years of 'lived experience' puts young people at a particular disadvantage, the report states. It warns campaigners of a 'trans-hostile' cultural climate, saying that 'many mainstream and right-wing media outlets have given platforms to the voices of trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), a term coined by a journalist at the Guardian'.
Groups campaigning for Norway-style laws should target the youth wings of political parties and 'de-medicalise' the issue, the report recommends. In Norway, it notes, the law changed after youth politicians 'brought up the issue at every meeting of any sort – even ones which were not directly relevant, to ensure the issue was at the forefront of everyone’s minds.'
www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/campaigners-for-gender-recognition-law-should-avoid-media/5102234.article
The report Only adults? Good practices of legal gender recognition for youth can be downloaded from www.iglyo.com/only-adults/