New Advancements Regarding Trans Children in Europe

The Higher Regional Court Tribunal of the Land Brandenburg (Germany) ruled in a landmark decision that minor trans applicants from age seven can use the same legal gender recognition procedure as their adult peers (case number AZ 10 WF 80/16 of the OLG Brandenburg, decided on 24 January 2017). They will no longer have to involve the Family Court and the Youth Welfare Office in addition to the regular court proceeding. The rule is also valid for other areas in Germany, ending a practice of unnecessary stress and delay.

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The Spanish autonomous region Castilla-La Mancha has now its first equality protocol for trans minors in social, educational, or health matters. TGEU member organisation, Daniela Foundation, welcomed the package of measures in the region, which might become law at a later point.

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The human rights of trans children has been the subject of the recently published working paper Back Me Up! – Rights of Trans Children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, developed in cooperation between the Humboldt Law Clinic Grund- und Menschenrechte and Transgender Europe. The legal analysis found the EU Convention protects the right of children to legal gender recognition, as well as the right to have their gender identity respected in school and education. In 2017, trans minors’ rights under the Convention to access trans-specific healthcare will be examined.