In 22 European countries, transgender people are required to undergo forced sterilization in order to have their gender identity legally recognized.
Fortunately, that’s about to change. The European Court of Human Rights ruled this week that forced sterilization laws are a violation of human rights, and that these 22 countries must change their laws.
The affected countries are Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Finland, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. A handful of other European countries have also removed their forced sterilization laws in the past few years.
“Today is a victory for trans people and human rights in Europe,” said Transgender Europe Executive Director Julia Ehrt in a press release. “This decision ends the dark chapter of state-induced sterilization in Europe.”
OutRight Action International Executive Director Jessica Stern also applauded the ruling.
“Today the world moved in the right direction for trans rights everywhere,” she said. “Forcing unnecessary medical interventions to access basic human rights like legal recognition of a person’s gender is barbaric.”
The European Court of Human Rights ruling said forced medical examinations or mental health diagnoses for trans people do not violate the European Convention on Human Rights.
“It is regrettable that cruel and unnecessary medical examinations are seen to be in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Transgender Europe Senior Policy Officer Richard Köhler. “We will continue to raise awareness about the human rights abuses in the medical field that trans people are still systematically subjected to.”
This is a really big deal, and about damn time, too.
