Whenever something positive happens, something that further tips the balance, I go back to Dentons and say, thank you Dentons for showing us what TRA's were about and how they came so far and how important continued fightback is. Here it is, just so you can have a bit of a gloat (not a big one), just a little, well deserved pat on the back
GOOD PRACTICES FOR NGO ADVOCACY In recent years, varying advocacy techniques have been employed by NGOs and politicians in their efforts to effect change in their countries with regard to legal gender recognition. While cultural and political factors play a key role in the approach to be taken, there are certain techniques that emerge as being effective in progressing trans rights in the ‘good practice’ countries.
1. Target youth politicians Activists found it particularly helpful to get youth wings political parties on side, as main wings of political parties are often keen to listen and take the views of their younger counterparts seriously. In some cases, activists found it useful to make the point that youth politicians are the senior politicians of the future and that any changes that they are in favour of will inevitably be the policies of the future and are more likely to be on “the right side of history”. Some campaigns found that allowing youth politicians to advocate for legal gender recognition to be extended to minors was compelling, perhaps because they are well placed to empathise with the situation of their peers.
2.De-medicalise the campaign Many of the activists we interviewed mentioned de-medicalisation of gender recognition laws being important in their campaigns. De-medicalisation involves separating the legal gender recognition process from the public association with medical treatment or diagnoses. It was observed that the public often finds it difficult to separate these two concepts and this can result in apprehension about expanding access to legal gender recognition processes. Indeed, in certain countries, medical and legal processes are still interlinked. Therefore, campaigns which seek to reform legal gender recognition laws have the task of separating these concepts through educational campaigns, so that legal gender recognition can be seen in the eyes of the public as distinct from gender confirmation treatments. This also means minors may be more likely to be 19 Only Adults? Good Practices in Legal Gender Recognition for Youth able to access the processes, as one of the reasons often cited by opponents and critics in such countries for denying such access to minors is that young people should not have irreversible surgeries until they are of the age of maturity. Activists have sought to educate the public that legal gender recognition is a purely civil process.
3. Use case studies of real people Telling real stories of people who have gone through the legal gender recognition process humanises and personalises the campaign, better enabling politicians and the general public to relate, increasing empathy and understanding. This technique has been used in several countries to great effect, most notably in Malta. This campaign technique is not always possible due to the cultural environment in the specific country. For example, in the UK, the debate surrounding reform of legal gender recognition laws has been politically charged and trans people have suffered more hate crime than in previous years. Therefore, the employment of such techniques should proceed with caution and organizations should take all necessary measures to protect the individuals involved.
4.Anonymise the narratives Most notably in Malta, TV programmes and/or other fictional narratives based upon real stories which are acted out have made an impact on swaying public perceptions. These can be helpful where a person does not feel safe to be put on a platform (online or otherwise) for fear of abuse. 5.Get ahead of the government agenda and the media story In many of the NGO advocacy campaigns that we studied, there were clear benefits where NGOs managed to get ahead of the government and publish progressive legislative proposal before the government had time to develop their own. NGOs need to intervene early in the legislative process and ideally before it has even started. This will give them far greater ability to shape the government agenda and the ultimate proposal than if they intervene after the government has already started to develop its own proposal. Where NGOs fail to intervene early, the ultimate gender recognition legislation may be far less progressive than activists would like. This lesson applies equally to the media. There is a real risk that where advocates fail to intervene early, sensitizing the media and the public to trans rights in general and legal gender recognition in particular, persistent negative and pernicious narratives about the trans rights agenda may take hold in the public imagination which will negatively influence the legislative process and the prospects for success.
6.Use human rights as a campaign point Based on our research, human rights arguments have been instrumental to the success of several campaigns for more progressive gender recognition laws. In Norway, human rights arguments were a cornerstone of activists’ campaigns. Prior to the most recent legal reforms, those seeking to legally change gender in practice had to undergo sterilisation (although this requirement did not appear in formal legislation). The result was that Norwegian campaigners had a compelling argument that the human rights of trans people were being breached and this was a key factor in the success of their campaign.