Federal Government changes transgender passport policy

The Federal Government has recently changed its passport policy, making it easier for transsexual people to obtain a passport in their preferred gender.

The new guidelines from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade allow transgender people to obtain a passport in their chosen gender without sex reassignment surgery and allow a third gender option of X (indeterminate) for intersex people.

The new passport guidelines for transgender people state that a letter from a medical practitioner certifying that the person has had, or is receiving, appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to a new gender, or that they are intersex and do not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth, is acceptable and sex reassignment surgery is not a prerequisite to issue a passport in a new gender.

“There are more transpeople out there than people think,” transgender lobby and advocacy group WA Gender Project secretary Zoe Hyde says.

“By and large they blend in, they look like any other person on the street, they’re going about their lives normally and the vast majority of people aren’t aware they have a trans colleague or a trans neighbour.”

This usually invisible group of people has serious concerns to face, that are slowly gaining society’s recognition.

“This is a great step forward for transpeople,” says Hyde.

“It means that transpeople can now travel without having to feel embarrassment, or in some cases discrimination.”

Equally important says Hyde is the third gender option available to intersex people.

“Most intersex people consider themselves either male or female, but there are some who consider themselves neither, and these people want to have access to a passport reflecting that,” she says.

The indeterminate gender option of X for intersex people and the ability for transpeople to identify their chosen sex on passports has been available to all 190 member countries of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation since the end of World War II. Australia has just caught up.

Gold Coast clinical psychologist Ashley van Houten, researching the mental health of transsexuals living in their preferred gender, says the policy change is very significant in the affirmation of identity for transsexual people.

“Transsexuals can go through years and years and years of bringing their family on board, bringing their friends on board, bringing their work on board; and finally everything is going well, but in one minute just by handing over a passport, these years of hard work could be invalidated,” he says.

“They could be laughed at, ridiculed and humiliated. In some countries it is even illegal for a male to dress as a woman.  This new policy is so important.”

Van Houten says his research examines an area not yet studied in Australia or New Zealand.

“I’m looking at the mental health wellbeing of transsexuals once they start living in their preferred gender. Because you would expect that if I was male and I’m a transsexual longing to be female, once I’ve made that transition and start living as a female I should start to feel pretty good about life.

“I’m examining if that is the case or whether that’s mediated by something else –society.”

Van Houten says there is much confusion and misconception about transsexual people.

“We immediately associate transsexuals with transvestites, drag queens and drag kings. It really does a disservice to transsexuals. They’re born with a condition outside their control,” he says.

“There’s nothing they can do. It’s not a choice.”

Hyde concurs: “I think many people don’t take transpeople seriously- they think it’s something transpeople do lightly or on a whim, or maybe they just think transpeople are a bit crazy. However there is a growing body of evidence showing there’s some truth behind transpeople saying ‘I feel like a man or woman trapped in the wrong body’.”

Research by The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, published in 2009, found that sexual differentiation of the reproductive organs takes place in the first two months of pregnancy, whereas sexual differentiation of the brain happens in the second half of pregnancy.

“This means that in the event of an ambiguous sex at birth, the degree of masculinisation of the genitals may not reflect the degree of masculinisation of the brain,” the study says.

“The human foetal brain develops in the male direction through a direct action of testosterone and in the female direction through the absence of this hormone. During the intrauterine period, gender identity, sexual orientation, cognition, aggression and other behaviours are programmed in the brain in a sexually differentiated way.”

The change in  passport policy is vindication for transsexual people. Although the Federal Government has taken steps to acknowledge transsexual people in their new lives with this policy, all state governments are lagging. Sex reassignment surgery remains a mandatory requirement to amend birth certificates.

The office of Western Australia’s Attorney-General Christian Porter says the State Government has not considered any change to existing birth certificate policy.

Van Houten says the inability for transsexual people to amend birth certificates to reflect their identity has serious ramifications.

“Some transsexuals have lived 40 years in their preferred gender but have decided for various reasons not to go through with surgery. They’re quite happy but at the same time they feel incomplete because their documentation doesn’t reflect how they have lived their lives,” he says.

“If I get a document that misspells my name; let alone anything else; I’m not very happy about it, but for transsexual people to get to the point where they’re living in their preferred gender there has been a significant road to travel.

“They’ve dealt with losing family, they’ve dealt with losing friends, they’ve dealt with being bullied at school. Often they’ve moved interstate away from family because it’s too painful. So after all that sacrifice you would expect validation to be fairly high.”

Gender rights group A Gender Agenda spokesperson Peter Hyndal says sex reassignment surgery as a requirement to change birth certificates is not only a denial of a person’s identity but a “fundamental breach of human rights”.

“It just doesn’t happen in civilised countries,” he says.

“The Government shouldn’t dictate what medical procedures people should or shouldn’t have. Everyone else has their sex or their gender recognised before the law, I think it’s a serious marginalisation of a group of people to say they have to be sterilised before they can be recognised.”

Hyde agrees the situation is a catch 22. “The surgery to construct male genitals isn’t available in Australia; it’s certainly not covered under the public health system. A transguy would have to travel overseas, the procedure can cost up to $100,000.00 and even then success isn’t guaranteed.

“It’s unjust for the State Government to mandate that you have to have surgery, but not provide it.”

When asked to name the best way to assist transsexual people in their transition and finding their place in society, van Houten lets out a long breath.

“Compassion,” he says. “Be sensitive to the little things, as a society we fear what we don’t know. If you don’t know take the time to find out.”