Over 100k people sign a petition calling for non-binary to be recognised as a legal gender

Nearly 130,000 people have signed a petition calling for non-binary to be made a legally-recognised gender in the UK.

The UK Government must now consider this petition for a debate.

“There is no option of ‘Non-binary’ on legal forms, ignoring members of the population,” the petition reads. “This requires the government to pass a law that publicly recognises ‘Non-binary’ as a part of the GRP under the Gender Recognition Act, a.k.a a legal and valid gender identity option.

“By recognising Non-binary as a valid gender identity, it would aid in the protection of Non-binary individuals against transphobic hate crimes, and would ease Gender Dysphoria experienced by Non-binary people.”

The petition was set up by Sasha Glubb

Trans men and women in the UK wanting to obtain a legal change to their gender must go through the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), get an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria and have two medical reports.

As it stands, non-binary isn’t recognised as a legal gender under the act.

In 2018, there was a consultation on reform to the GRA during which 58 per cent of respondents called on non-binary people to be incorporated into the law.

The government ignored this, citing “complex practical consequences for other areas of the law, service provision and public life if provision were to be made for non-binary gender recognition”.

Countries that do recognise non-binary as a legal gender include India, Nepal, Pakistan, Uruguay, Malta and most Australian territories.

Other countries such as Denmark, New Zealand as well as parts of the USA and Canada, offer an “X” gender option for non-binary citizens to use on legal documents.

The UK Government is yet to respond to the petition which you can sign here.

Featured Image: Credit: Dave Smith / Shutterstock

Related articles Recommended by this writer:

• Conversion therapy still isn’t banned. This government doesn’t prioritise LGBTQ+ issues

• ‘They tried to pray the gay away’: Growing up gay in a deeply religious household

• Uni’s a place for LGBTQ+ students to thrive, but this year many haven’t had the chance