Major Victory for LGBTIQ+ Rights in Spain: A Landmark Law
By Abril Neiman.
There is a long history of fighting for recognition of gender identity. Although it has been invisible, great progress has been made in recent decades, which has contributed to its main objective: equal treatment, rights and opportunities in the different spheres of life, without any distinction based on gender or sexuality.
In 2023, the LGTBIQ+ movement is celebrating a huge step forward: a historic law has just been passed in Spain, Law 04/2023 for real and effective equality for trans people and to guarantee the rights of LGTBI people[1].
This law is very comprehensive, as it seeks to protect people from this group in all spheres of life, such as administration; employment; health; education; culture, leisure and sport; social media and the internet; family, children and youth; external action and international protection; rural areas; and tourism.
This new regulation recognizes the right to gender identity and gives everyone over the age of 16 the possibility to change their gender and name in the Civil Registry, without the need to provide a medical or psychological certificate, or to change their appearance. It also protects the right to health of people who do decide to have gender reassignment surgery.
But this law goes further and includes other issues. For example, it establishes the need to encourage, guarantee and promote the equality of LGTBI people in the workplace and introduces the social and occupational integration of trans people, for which it lays down some mandatory measures that the public administration must follow from now on.
Moving on to Latin America, Argentina was one of the first countries in the world to take the “first leap” by recognizing the right to identity in Law 26.743 on Gender Identity[2], passed in 2012. This meant, for the first time, the non-pathologizing of trans identities, allowing access not only to a change of registration – which, like the new law in Spain, does not require prior surgery, hormone treatment or psychological certification – but also to a change of image. The right to dignified treatment and free personal development is explicitly stated, which includes the possibility for all persons over the age of 18 to have access to comprehensive hormonal treatments or surgical interventions in order to adapt their bodies to their self-perceived gender identity.
This law was an immense achievement in our country an it gave a strong sense of hope to this group worldwide. We can see how it is reflected today in the legislative situation in Spain.
Despite the progress made in recent decades, both our country and the rest of the world must continue to debate and legislate in order to achieve no discrimination and equality between queer and heteronormative people. In the meantime, as a society, we must work to recognize and respect each other, gradually erasing inequality until it is simply unthinkable, and thus achieving the full integration of the LGTBIQ+ collective.
[1] Spanish Law 04/2023, 28th February, for real and effective equality for trans people and to guarantee the rights of LGTBI people, published in the Official Bulletin on March 1st, 2023
[2] Argentinean Law 26.743 on Gender Identity, published in the Official Bulletin on March 23rd, 2012.
For further information please contact: aneiman@ojambf.com
