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Several things have happened on this front during the past month:
1. High Court upholds appeal on 'gender'
The Australian High Court has made a decision to uphold an appeal by two transsexuals - they asked to have their 'gender' change recognised by the Gender Re-Assignment Board of Western Australia. The Board refused their application, as they had not had full gender re-assignment surgery.
Several appeals later (see details below) and now the High Court has ruled in their favour.
The High Court noted that the WA legislation refers to 'medical or surgical' treatment for gender re-assignment.
Of note is the comment by judges that there is a 'very low success rate' for phalloplasty.
Also of note is the judges' comment that while the women took the drugs they would not be 'fertile'. They refer to one expert who says he has never met anyone who has gone off the hormone drugs.
Of course, going off the drugs can make them fertile as has happened in the case of the 'transman' in the USA who has had two children - and other transsexuals who have had children (read report).
We also have a friend who went along this route - of hormone therapy drugs and more - but changed her mind after becoming a Christian and reverted to being a woman - she is now married with children!
In the current case...
* The transsexuals lost in their application to the WA Gender Re-Assignment Board
* The transsexuals appealed - and won.
* The WA government appealed to the Court of Appeal - and the government won.
* The transsexuals appealed to the high Court - and now they have won.
Read more - view our website page on legal cases. Scroll down to 'WA - AB and AH - Registration of gender change'Â
Read media report: Sex-swap pair win court case, The Australian, 6/10/2011.
2. Government changes passport rules for transsexuals
The federal Gillard Labor government recently changed the rules for passports. Previously a person had to supply a birth certificate. Some transsexuals complained they couldn't get a passport in their 'chosen gender' unless they presented a birth certificate - and in many states (such as Victoria) that can't be changed unless the person had had full re-assignment surgery.
One woman had been refused and taken her case to the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal - and won (See legal cases 'Grace Abrams').
So the government has now changed the rules. This, of course, is legal fiction!
Mr Rudd said that this reform is 'in line with the government's efforts to remove discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation'.
Read media report:Â Â Transsexual Aussies like passport changes, News.com.au, 16/9/2011.
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