Welsh Government Unveils Proposal to Streamline Gender Change Process

First Minister Mark Drakeford speaks during a Welsh government press conference in Cardiff, Wales, on Dec. 17, 2021. Ben Birchall/PA

Wales has announced plans to become the “most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe” by copying a process similar to Scotland’s self-ID legislation to make it easier to change gender.

On Tuesday, the Labour-run Welsh government, in cooperation with the left-wing Plaid Cymru political party, announced its LGBTQ+ Action Plan (pdf), calling for new powers to make it easier to legally change gender.

Wales aims to follow Scotland, which became the UK’s first country to back a self-ID process for legally changing gender, when it passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in December.

However, in late January, the UK Parliament triggered a constitutional row by blocking the radical gender reforms passed by the Scottish Government, the first time it had sought such an order. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack previously said that he had concerns that the bill has “safety issues for women and children.”

General view of the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, and agender) flag outside the RICS London Bookshop during UK Pride Month 2021 in London on June 1, 2021. Edward Smith/ Getty Images

LGBTQ+

The Welsh government also proposed banning conversion practices for all LGBTQ+ people, making Wales a “nation of sanctuary for LGBTQ+ migrants,” and ensuring education in Wales is “inclusive.”

LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex, asexual, aromantic, queer, and questioning people.

The lobby group Stonewall contributed to the plan.

Hannah Blythyn, deputy minister for social partnership, wrote that the plan sets out to make Wales a place “where people like me don’t need to wonder whether it is safe to hold our partner’s hand in public; a Wales where slurs and snide remarks, whether online or on the streets, is no longer commonplace, and a Wales where hate is consigned to history.”

“We have come a long way in the past few decades, but we cannot be complacent. Progress can and never should be taken for granted. LGBTQ+ communities remain under attack, with our hard-fought-for rights at risk of being rolled back around the world, including here in the UK,” she said.

In the document, the Welsh government said it will seek to start negotiations with the UK government to trigger a request to devolve powers related to gender recognition.

It also said it will advocate for LGBTQ+ hate crime to be made an aggravated offence as part of the Welsh government’s plans to pursue the devolution of policing and justice. The UK government disagrees with the devolution of justice to Wales.

‘Transgender Children’

The report noted that although Wales has its own gender service, it only caters to adults. “In simple words: there are no gender services for transgender children and young people in Wales,” the report said.

It cited research that said there is “evidence that indicates the positive impact of pre-pubertal social transition” and that “research on socially transitioned trans children has shown positive mental health and well-being outcomes.”

The government said that schools and other settings have “an important role to play” in “LGBTQ+ inclusive education” across Wales. The rollout of Relationships and Sexuality Education became mandatory in September 2022 for all learners.

The government also signaled that transgender people will not be excluded from biological women’s sports.

“Our position concerning inclusion in sport is clear: LGBTQ+ rights, including trans rights, are human rights – and as the First Minister Mark Drakeford said, our starting point is that transgender women are women,” said the report.

The government added that by March, it aims to remove unnecessary personal identification from recruitment practices, which will involve a new system that supports name-free recruitment. This will see markers such as name, title, age, and gender “removed or restricted where deemed necessary.”

‘Disbelief’

Critics fear the proposals will affect women’s rights.

Writing on Twitter, Wales-Women’s Rights Network said: “This plan is not ‘friendly,’ it harms women’s rights, it erases same-sex attraction, it indoctrinates and medicalises children, it will ’trans away the gay.'”

At the Senedd, Welsh Conservative MP Laura Anne Jones said there were “massive safeguarding issues” with the polices and that “women and children must be protected.”

She said, “We all want the best for the LGBTQ+ community in Wales and we want to see a fairer Wales. But as I read through these proposals with disbelief, I find a lot of this plan genuinely concerning, pushing gender ideology in nurseries and schools and fairness in sports and, incredibly, seeing that you still want to push ahead with those powers to emulate the self-ID bill in Scotland, despite the clear risks that it poses to women and children’s safety,” she said.