Your rights

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 enables trans people to have their gender legally recognised with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). In order to get a GRC, trans people must have been diagnosed with persistent gender dysphoria. They will also have to convince the panel that they intend to live in their ‘new’ gender for the rest of their lives.

A trans person doesn’t need to have undergone surgery to be awarded with a GRC, but applicants will have to provide details of any surgery they have had.

If a trans person is married and wants to remain in the marriage, they cannot be issued with a GRC – in order to apply the marriage will have to be dissolved. A trans person who is married can be issued with an interim GRC, which is valid for six months and enables them to have their marriage annulled. Once this step has been taken the interim certificate is converted into a full GRC. You can then have a civil partnership with the same person.

Once you have a GRC, you can marry someone of the opposite legal gender or have a civil partnership with someone of the same legal gender. If you are married and intend to stay with your partner after your transition, you still have to annul the marriage and then have a civil partnership once you have a GRC.

If your birth was registered in the UK, your GRC can be used to get a new birth certificate.

If you have children and apply for a GRC, your status as the father of your children will not change and neither will your rights and responsibilities. Your children’s birth certificates will not be changed once you have a GRC.

If you are planning to apply for a GRC it is worth getting advice beforehand as it can affect things such as inheritance, interpretation of wills and benefits. You can find our more in this guide.

You can also find out more from GIRES.

Transsexual people are protected in law from discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010. Previously trans people were protected under various different laws - the new Act brings these together under one piece of legislation.

Under the Act, there are nine protected characteristics – gender reassignment is one of them. This means that you are protected from discrimination and harassment if you are planning to have gender reassignment surgery, if you have had it or if you are currently going through it. Other trans women are not directly protected under the Act, unless someone discriminates against them because they perceive them to be in the above category.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission sets out how you are protected from discrimination in various aspects of life as a transsexual person – for example when using health services and at work.

More about the Equality Act 2010

If you feel you have been discriminated against, you can get advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. They have helplines for each area of the UK, all of which are open Monday to Friday from 8am–6pm.

England: 0845 604 6610

Wales: 0845 604 8810

Scotland: 0845 604 5510

Press For Change is an organisation which also provides information on trans people’s rights in the law.

If you feel you have been discriminated against, Press For Change also runs a service called Trans Equality which provides telephone and email legal advice on equality and human rights laws. You can contact the helpline on 08448 708165 on Mondays to Wednesdays from 10am-4pm, and on Thursdays from 9.30am-5pm.

Many transmen do not experience discrimination or stigma, but if you do, you are protected by the law. Discrimination is when you are treated differently or unpleasantly because you are a trans person. For example if you apply for a job and you are turned down because you are a transman, this is discrimination and is illegal.

Some forms of stigma and discrimination are less easy to take action against. Sometimes trans people are laughed at in the street or called names. Things like this can be intimidating, upsetting and hurtful and it can be hard to know how to react.

Here are some tips that other trans people have found useful when dealing with this kind of situation:

• Challenging the person who is discriminating against you.
• Ignoring the comments and walking away – especially if you think retaliating could compromise your safety.
• Finding ways to cope with the way stigma makes you feel – this could be through writing a journal, learning yoga or meditation or finding a hobby you enjoy.

Transphobic crime

If you have been the victim of a transphobic crime, many police stations will have a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) liaison officer who you may prefer to talk to about what has happened. Police forces take transphobic crime seriously – if you Google search for ‘LGBT police liaison officer + your local area’ you should find a list of your local contacts.

Here is a list of contacts for the LGBT Liaison officers in each London borough.

If you are in immediate danger call 999.

Other organisations

GALOP and Gendered Intelligence Youth Group have produced an interactive online zine addressing some of the issues around taking action against Transphobia.

Gires provide a service where you can report a transphobic crime which they will collate into a report with anonymous details.

Transphobia is illegal – it is hate crime, do try to get support and report it.