Easier to change legal gender

-Norway is in the forefront when it comes to LGBT rights. But our current system for changing legal gender is unacceptable and has been unchanged for nearly 60 years. This proposal is in accordance with human rights, says Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie.

The bill states that a person who feels that their gender differs from the sex they were given at birth, have the right to change this based on their own experience. To change your legal gender, you have to fill out a document and send it to the nearest Tax Office. There will be a clear distinction between medical treatment and the process of changing legal gender.

-The bill is historic because it is now the individual and not the health services that decide when he or she has changed legal gender. Everyone has the right to be who they are, says Høie.

The Ministry proposes that people over the age of 16 can apply for change in legal gender by themselves. Children between the age of 6 and 16 have to apply together with their parents. If only one of the parents give their consent, The County Governor in Oslo and Akershus can approve an application of change if it is in the best interest of the child.

Children under 6 years of age can only have their legal gender changed if the child is born with a genital ambiguity. The condition have to be documented by health personnel.