A bill, which will make it possible to freely change gender from the age of 16, was voted on Thursday, December 22, in first reading by the Spanish deputies. This text will open the possibility for a transgender person to have their name and gender changed on their identity papers during a simple appointment with the administration. And this, without providing medical reports, or proof of hormonal treatment followed for two years, as is the case today for adults in the country.
“This law repairs a historic debt of the State with regard to transgender people” and “‘depathologizes’ (their) lives”had declared, Wednesday, in front of the deputies, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, standard-bearer of this law. “Trans women are women”insisted this Podemos official, denouncing the “transphobia”.
A vote after months of debate
Called “trans law”, this text will also allow 14-16 year olds to freely change gender in civil status, provided that they are accompanied in the procedure by their legal guardians. 12-14 year olds will have to get the green light from the courts. Currently, all minors must obtain this judicial authorization. In all cases, a period of three months is provided between the filing of the application and its validation by the applicant so that he can confirm his decision to change gender.
If, as expected, it is definitively adopted by the Senate in the coming weeks, this bill will allow Spain to join the few countries in the world authorizing gender self-determination, via a simple administrative declaration. In Europe, Denmark was the first country to grant this right to transgender people in 2014.
This vote comes after months of tensions within the ruling left and the feminist movement. The text is defended by the radical left party Podemos, an ally of the Socialists in the government of Pedro Sanchez. Adopted by the Council of Ministers more than a year ago, this bill caused a split between Podemos, which made it a pillar of its government action and demanded express adoption, and the Socialists, who tried to modify the text in vain.
