September 16, 2011
The Dutch Civil Code violates the human rights of transgender people, and the government should amend it without delay, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 13 September.
The government should revise article 28 of the Civil Code, which requires transgender people to take hormones and undergo surgery to alter their bodies and be permanently and irreversibly sterilised before they can have their gender legally recognised on official documents. Human Rights Watch urges the government to repeal these requirements.
The report Controlling Bodies, Denying Identities: Human Rights Violations Against Trans People in the Netherlands documents the impact of a 1985 law and article 28 of the Civil Code on the daily life of transgender people.
Download the report (PDF)
Update
Good news: Meanwhile the Dutch government has announced that it will remove the surgery and sterilisation requirements for transgender persons to officially change their gender!