Finally! Finland to debate forced sterilisation laws for transgender people
Campaigners have been trying to the forced sterilisation requirement for many years
The Finnish government is set to review its gender recognition laws in a move that campaigners hope will stop forced sterilisation for transgender people.
Under current Finnish law, a trans person must be sterilised prior to having their legal gender changed.
They are also required to be medically diagnosed with “transsexualism” and undergo extensive mental health screening.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has made several recommendations to the Finnish government to abolish these conditions.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in April that requiring sterilisation for gender recognition was a human rights violation.
Campaigners hope this ruling will translate into a legislative change when Parliament meets on August 25.
Two other Nordic countries, Denmark and Sweden, had similar conditions for gender recognition, but have dropped these requirements in the last few years.
Sweden has offered compensation for the estimated 800 people sterilised under the former requirements.
Early in 2017, Sweden stopped classifying being transgender as a psychiatric disorder.
MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.
Report this comment
Please let us know why you would like to report this comment:
The ability to comment will be removed from anyone who does not follow our Terms & Conditions
