Soon It will Be Easier to Change Your Gender Legally in the UK

The UK government is trying to overhaul the entire process of changing gender and make it a hassle-free experience for transgender people. The transgender have been harassed and bullied for years but all that looks like it’s set to change now with the government trying to push in measures that will ensure that officials focus on helping the LGBT and transgender community.

The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee made a recommendation about six months ago which proposed to make the entire legal process less distressing for trans people. Nicky Morgan, head of the Women and Equalities ministry, has responded by unveiling a host of measures with a view to tackle the various challenges faced by the transgender people.

Gender Recognition Act set for a review

One of the standout measures proposed by Morgan is that the government would review the Gender Recognition Act of 2004. The act allows a transgender to change sex but the applicant needs to go through extensive questioning by experts before such a change is granted legally. The proposal to review the Gender Recognition Act comes after a Parliamentary report which said that Britain had a “long way to go” to ensure equality for transgender people.

Will improve people attitude and remove “mental illness” notion

The recommendations also included other points like ensuring that being a transgender is not deemed as a mental illness by any of the public institutions, specifically the National Health Service. Official documents will demand unnecessary gender details will be reviewed. Morgan also proposed to conduct a major survey in UK to identify the needs and requirements of the transgender community. The British Social Attitudes Survey will have questions this year that will help to gauge the attitude of the general population towards trans people.

The government plans to train the NHS staff to treat transgender people better and will also work with several universities to put an end to bullying.

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