The Department of Internal Affairs is working with the Human Rights Commission to simplify the process for trans and intersex people to change sex details on their passport.
The announcement follows recommendations that came out of the groundbreaking To Be Who I Am report, which sought to outline the main issues faced by the trans community in New Zealand.
Internal Affairs’ review will look at how trans and intersex people apply for passports and will likely result in a more flexible policy. The department’s current thoughts are that applicants would need to provide a witnessed Statutory Declaration with their passport application, outlining their circumstances, and advising the gender identity they wish to be displayed in their passport.
It is intended that the new gender identity would be displayed in the passport only and will not alter a person’s birth or citizenship record. This change will have no effect on the Births. Deaths and Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995 which allows for an adult or guardian of an eligible child to apply to the New Zealand Family Court for a declaration to have their birth record reflect their nominated gender.
The Department has been consulting with communities across New Zealand with an expectation of being able to implement a new flexible policy in September 2012. Internal Affairs attended the recent Agender national conference in Christchurch. The Human Rights Commission has also invited them to speak at community meetings in Wellington and Auckland, as part of a general discussion about progress on the Transgender Inquiry recommendations.
A meeting is being held tomorrow at the Human Rights Commission in Wellington. It is a chance to reflect on work that has been done by the Human Rights Commission, government agencies and community groups, and The Department of Internal Affairs will be there to ask trans people for their views about proposed changes to the steps needed to change sex details on a passport.
An Auckland meeting will be held in late July. The date is still to be confirmed. If you would like to be sent an invitation please email Jack on jackb@hrc.co.nz.
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Internal Affairs is only “looking” at this now? What have transgender and intersex people been travelling on? “Before” and “after” photos? The government’s heteronormative majority representation deserves to be “punished”, and what could be better than parliamentary colleagues of the same gender being forced to engage in sex with each other!
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Prior to 2008 there was no choice you were either ‘M’ or ‘F’.
Through discussion in 2008 with the HRC and the Department of Internal Affairs this policy was modified later to allow ‘X’ to show for gender, presumably X being the unknown.
Anyone who travelled with an ‘X’ on their passport stood the chance of this status being questioned or rejected by border control officials, and then later by certain airlines after the demand for better security required by many countries.
Just try to explain to a non English speaking official in a foreign country why your gender is shown with an ‘X’, believe me it is not easy.
I speak from personal experience on this count; however I am uncertain how to achieve an alternative although the idea of no gender being shown but a finger print instead might work!
After all the passport is only an identity form to show you are who you are.
The Department of Internal Affairs are actually to be commended for listening to the requirements of the Transgender and Intersex communities. They are one of the few government departments who actually see us as people with individual needs.
Their willingness to look at their policies and review them to meet changing needs shows they care.
Your suggestion of before and after photos was, although presumably made in a facetious manner, borders on being offensive.
It shows that you fail to understand what it is to be transgender, and yes the wheels of government do move very slowly, especially when one belongs to a minority.
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Diane, my apologies. I did not mean to cause offense. Would it be helpful if you could travel nude? I lobby for nude rights.
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It is not in my nature to keep the you/me comments going but in this case I will.
Thanks for your apology, sort of, but I want to make a little clearer hopefully, the issue I took with your before and after photo comment.
For any transgender person to face the world and feel comfortable, they must recognise firstly their past then their future physical form. In the past their physical has not matched the way their mind sees themselves, hence the need to correct this. Most will have taken some time looking at this physical being, for many the images they see in the mirror are just not them.
After the decision to transition is made and acted upon they look to their new image, and who they see is at last correct. Sure this image may need a little tweaking to become personally acceptable, but when they do they become their authentic self.
This is a critical point for any transgender person in their transition and many go through trauma and self doubt as to how others will see and accept them, until finally they come to terms with this new self. Usually when this point is reached there is no going back and the idea of their old self becomes unthinkable.
No transgender person I know would ever want to be associated with that other person, that person is gone forever.
This is why the idea of before and after photos is offensive, no one needs a reminder of who they used to be especially when it is so painful an experience.
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Thanks Diana. You’re not the only one who feels comfortable in their “transition form”. I feel comfortable when I’m nude, though, unlike you, I don’t even get to travel.
It’s not transgender people who are the most discriminated in the queer community. It’s me.
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