Are Non-Binary People Now Safe?

In the UK, the Equality Act outlines our rights at citizens and therefore informs us and the rest of the population how to act. It's designed to prevent discrimination both in law, in the workplace, and as a general rule for our society. And yet non-binary isn't a recognised gender in of itself.

In September of this year, a court case of discrimination was brought forward by a non-binary engineer working for Jaguar. The employment tribunal led to the courts listening to what was said with regards to gender back in 2009 when there were debates around the Equality Bill. The then Solicitor-General referred to gender as a spectrum. This acknowledgement means that more than just the binary genders are now protected by the Equality Act, including non-binary, genderqueer and agender.

While this was a groundbreaking statement on the side of LGBT+ rights, it's just a start. Also in September of this year was the scheduled review of the Gender Recognition Act, a piece of legislation which "allows people who have gender dysphoria to change their legal gender". The act has been criticised by many for being an intrusive and painstakingly long process, but the reform didn't help.

Under Theresa May, the government had proposed a method of people being able to change gender by signing a statutory declaration without the need for providing medical records or being diagnosed with gender dysphoria. These plans were scrapped, however, the government instead deciding to cut the £140 cost of acquiring a gender recognition certificate for a "nominal amount". They've also proposed to open three new gender clinics across the UK which would cut down on NHS waiting times.

This isn't enough.

Currently, to change their gender, a transgender person needs a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (which not all transgender or non-binary people suffer from). They need to be over the age of 18 and then their case is reviewed by a panel. They review the diagnosis of dysphoria and other medical details. Oh, and the person needs to have lived as their gender for at least two years as well.

If that didn't sound bad enough, the current waiting list to be seen by an NHS gender therapist, the medical professional able to give a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, is just over two years. You then need to attend at least one session before being diagnosed. If a transgender man wanted to have top surgery, the waiting list is much longer than two years and that's simply to sit down and talk about options. If they were to go private, the wait would still be around a year long and it would cost upwards of £5000 too.

All of this so someone born in the wrong body can feel like themselves.

It's time we broke through the ceiling being pushed down by the government; putting plasters on a cracked roof every so often won't help it in the end. They need to realise that transgender people are people. Non-binary people are people. And, more importantly, they need to realise that helping transgender and non-binary people won't affect society or the cisgendered world. It will help it.

- Henry

GLOSSARY

Non-Binary - Existing or identifying outside the sex/gender binary, being neither man nor woman, or being only partially or a combination of these things.

Genderqueer - Someone whose gender exists outside of or beyond society's concept of gender.

Agender - Someone who is without gender, gender neutral, and/or rejects the concept of gender for themselves.

Gender Dysphoria - Distress or unhappiness experienced because one's gender does not match their sex and/or gender assigned at birth.

Top Surgery - A surgery performed on the chest in order to remove breast tissue, often done to produce a masculine appearance.

Definitions sourced from "The ABC's Of LGBT+" by Ash Hardell