Transgender ruling not end of story

THE High Court ruling (October 19) in favour of Dr Lydia Foy is a victory for equality, but may only be the beginning of another struggle for transgendered people in Ireland.

The ruling has vital implications for the right of individuals who have undergone gender reassignment to have this recognised on their birth certificate.

The Government should immediately introduce legislation on gender recognition and protect its citizens from unjust attack and prejudice. What it is actually going to do now is anyone’s guess. If no legislation is introduced, Dr Foy will have the option of continuing her case to the European Court.

The difficulties posed in changing the system of birth registration in areas such as family law, employment and social security should not be underestimated, but such problems are not insurmountable and have been overcome in Britain as well as almost every other European country.

What this case has highlighted is that the Government needs to be doing much, much more to protect the legal and human rights of individuals whose gender was misidentified at birth. In his first ruling on the issue five years ago, Justice McKechnie alluded to the need for legislation to be put in place to protect individuals.

Sadly for all involved this was not to be the case and Dr Foy was obliged to continue to fight for her rights in the courts.

We are urging people to contact their TDs and ask them to put pressure on the Government to introduce this legislation as soon as possible.

Dr Foy has fought a 10-year battle in the courts; let’s hope she is not forced to fight on any longer.

Sonya Donnelly

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Officer

Union of Students’ in Ireland

Grattan Street

Dublin 2