Ombudsman for Equality's statement to the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament on the government proposal for an Act on the affirmation of gender and related acts (TAS 516/2022, issued on 17 October 2022)
The Ombudsman for Equality is in favour of amending the legislation concerning the affirmation of gender. It is important to improve the individual's right to self-determination by separating the legal affirmation of gender from medical examinations and treatments.
When realised, the reform would improve transgender individuals' right to self-determination and promote gender equality. Eliminating the infertility requirement is in line with Finland's human rights obligations and an important and long-awaited amendment that will improve gender equality. The European Court of Human Rights, among others, has found the infertility requirement to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Finland is the only Nordic country that still imposes an infertility requirement for the legal affirmation of gender.
Among other things, the Ombudsman for Equality has recommended in the Ombudsman's report to Parliament (K 22/2018 vp) that the infertility requirement be eliminated and the legal affirmation of gender be separated from medical examinations and treatment. The Ombudsman for Equality's report to Parliament (K 1/2022 vp) recommends, among other things, adopting a legislative position on how gender diversity shall be taken into account in spaces and services segregated by gender.
The Ombudsman for Equality finds that the reform should pay more attention to the status of minors. Based on the impact assessment in the government proposal, for example, the Ombudsman for Equality finds the 17 years' and six months' age requirement for filing a gender affirmation application to be overly restrictive. The Ombudsman for Equality emphasises that all amendments should be based on human rights and take the interests of the child into account.
The Ombudsman for Equality finds it commendable that, in addition to transgender individuals, the provision-specific rationales address the position of non-binary and intersex individuals as potential applicants for gender affirmation.
The proposal expands the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's duty to notify from spouses to the registered partners of individuals affirming their gender. This duty to notify is unnecessary in the opinion of the Ombudsman for Equality. The duties of authorities do not typically include notifying a person about matters concerning their spouse.
In order to ensure the safety of both transgender and cis female prisoners, it would be important to be able to derogate from the legal gender basis of treatment in prisons for sufficiently justified reasons. The conditions for such derogations should be defined as clearly as possible to avoid discrimination against transgender prisoners in the placement of prisoners. It is important that such decisions be open to appeal.
21.10.2022
