A bill that would make it easier for people to change the gender on their birth certificate will put women and girls in danger, the Lesbian Rights Alliance Aotearoa says.
“The recommendation by select committee to remove all safety mechanisms from the legal sex change process puts women and girls in danger. This is not a left-right issue, it’s a ‘do you care about women’s safety?’ issue,” the Lesbian Rights Alliance Aotearoa (LRAA) said in a statement.
If Parliament adopts the recommendations of the Governance and Administration Committee on the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill, people will be able to change genders on their birth certificate by way of a statutory declaration instead of needing confirmation by a judge, under a bill reported back to Parliament.
They will also have options others than male or female – the options of “intersex” or “X (unspecified)” will also be available.