Transsexualism
There are a number of laws and guidelines that protect transsexual people and outline how they should be treated by medical professionals.
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 gives certain legal rights to trans men and women.
Under the Gender Recognition Act of 2004, trans men and women can:
To apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate, you must be over 18.
The application process requires you to prove that:
Find out about:
The Equality Act 2010 brought together over 116 previously separate pieces of legislation into one single act.
The act covers what was previously protected under the Sexual Discrimination Act 1975 namely legal protection for transsexual people in the workplace and wider society against:
If you're suffering discrimination at work, you should report it. The GOV.UK website has more information about what you can do if you think you've been unfairly discriminated against.
You can also read about the Equality Act 2010 on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website.
In addition to the legislation above, there are also clinical guidelines for health professionals that outline what high-quality care for transsexual people should involve.
Such guidelines include:
Gender
In this article, gender refers to the feeling of being either male or female.
Gender dysphoria
A condition that describes a feeling of mismatch between your biological sex and your gender identity.
Gender identity
Gender identity is your personal sense of knowing which gender you belong to, or the way that you see yourself.
Sex
In this article, sex refers to male or female, the biological sex that you were born with.
Transsexual
A transsexual is someone with an extreme and long-term case of gender dysphoria, who seeks to alter their biological sex to match their gender identity.
Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity.
There are no physical symptoms of gender dysphoria, but people with the condition may experience and display a range of feelings and behaviours.
Treatment for gender dysphoria aims to help people with the condition live the way they want to, in their preferred gender identity.
There are a number of laws and guidelines that protect transsexual people and outline how they should be treated by medical professionals.
In this video, Jay describes his transition from female to male and how he feels now.
Ruth was born in a male body, but knew from the age of 16 that she wanted to be a woman. She describes her hormone treatment and surgery, and how she feels