UK Government heavily criticised by Amnesty International
Human rights organisation Amnesty International released its Annual Report 20/21 this week - which examines progress on human rights issues by country.
The UK was heavily criticised for failures in multiple areas, including health, racism, immigration, domestic abuse, policing and protest, and LGBT+ rights.
In relation to transgender people, it said :
“Amid growing transphobic rhetoric and
fear-mongering in the media, the
government’s proposed amendments to the
outdated Gender Recognition Act in England
and Wales fell short of human rights
standards.”
This comes in the same week that the UK Government finally, after a 7 month delay, announced that the cost associated with obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) would fall to less than £10.
While this is a welcome, tiny step in the right direction in removing one of the many barriers trans people in the UK face, it represents a bare minimum performative gesture that also ignored every other finding and recommendation from the consultation conducted in 2018. The same consultation the government sat on for two years without any action.
The UK Government still fails to address the many other, much more significant barriers that prevent trans people from gaining legal recognition - such as the need to obtain a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria from a failing, unfit for purpose healthcare system that now takes at least 5 years to access for adults, or the other additional costs and issues associated with obtaining a GRC such as intrusive medical report requirements (which can run to hundreds of pounds), lack of appeal process or placement on a national “register” of transgender people.
Coupled with the other issues highlighted, it is clear to see that far from being a “fair, tolerant society”, the intolerance faced by transgender people cuts right to the heart of the UK Government, media and society as a whole.