Spanish senate gives green light to new trans law
The majority of the Senate gave approval on Wednesday February 8th to the 'trans law', however, it will still have to go back to the Congress of Deputies before being finalised.
The Ley de Trans recognises gender self-determination and develops a series of measures to guarantee the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The bill passed with 144 votes in favour, 108 against and 2 abstentions.
READ ALSO - IN DEPTH: What is Spain’s ‘Trans Law’ and why is it controversial?
The Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, has celebrated this new step in, her words, one of the "most important laws of the legislature" and has ensured that it "effectively reaches every corner of the country" despite the fact that there is "resistance to its application".
After the long debate on Wednesday, no new amendments have been added.
In a sentence, the new Trans Law simplifies the gender self-identification process. It states that any person over 16 years old will be able to legally change their name and gender on official ID documents by simply completing a basic administrative procedure.
According to Montero, the law is a recognition of "trans people's right to be who they are, without witnesses, without any obligation to undergo hormone treatment... and without a medical report that must say that they are sick".
Gender self-identification will also be available to children between 12 and 14 years old, and children under the age of 12 will have the right to change their name on their formal identification documents.
The draft bill was originally approved by the Congress of Deputies at the end of December 2022, but had to be passed on to the senate for the green light.
It must now, however, return back to the Congress of Deputies for final approval as some "technical issues" have been incorporated into the text, such as the definitive elimination of any reference to intra-gender violence, which occurs between same-sex couples.
Opposition
PP and Vox both vetoed the law saying that it will cause "irreparable damage" to children and adolescents, and will generate consequences that can be "very serious", especially for women victims of sexist violence.
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The Ley de Trans recognises gender self-determination and develops a series of measures to guarantee the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The bill passed with 144 votes in favour, 108 against and 2 abstentions.
READ ALSO - IN DEPTH: What is Spain’s ‘Trans Law’ and why is it controversial?
The Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, has celebrated this new step in, her words, one of the "most important laws of the legislature" and has ensured that it "effectively reaches every corner of the country" despite the fact that there is "resistance to its application".
After the long debate on Wednesday, no new amendments have been added.
In a sentence, the new Trans Law simplifies the gender self-identification process. It states that any person over 16 years old will be able to legally change their name and gender on official ID documents by simply completing a basic administrative procedure.
According to Montero, the law is a recognition of "trans people's right to be who they are, without witnesses, without any obligation to undergo hormone treatment... and without a medical report that must say that they are sick".
Gender self-identification will also be available to children between 12 and 14 years old, and children under the age of 12 will have the right to change their name on their formal identification documents.
The draft bill was originally approved by the Congress of Deputies at the end of December 2022, but had to be passed on to the senate for the green light.
It must now, however, return back to the Congress of Deputies for final approval as some "technical issues" have been incorporated into the text, such as the definitive elimination of any reference to intra-gender violence, which occurs between same-sex couples.
Opposition
PP and Vox both vetoed the law saying that it will cause "irreparable damage" to children and adolescents, and will generate consequences that can be "very serious", especially for women victims of sexist violence.
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