Legal Gender Recognition in Portugal: A Path to Self-Determination

Carla Moleiro,Nuno Pinto

doi:10.19164/ijgsl.v1i1.991

Abstract

<p><br />This paper presents research on the enforcement and impact of the first legal gender recognition legislation in Portugal (Law no.7/2011). The study describes how the administrative process created by the law functioned during its initial 5-year period, and identifies challenges and processes of resistance to this legal innovation. Simultaneously, it seeks to assess the impact of the law on the social and psychological well-being of trans people, including in their access to vital spheres of social life such as education and employment. The research employs a mixed-methods approach and a multi-informant methodology: an online questionnaire was completed by 68 trans and non-binary people, and semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with various selected stakeholders: representatives of trans and LGBTIQ+ organisations (n=5), health professionals identified as experts in the topic and as gatekeepers in legal gender recognition processes (n=12), and trans people (n=6). Results show, on the one hand, the significant positive impact that legal gender recognition has on the psychological well-being and social welfare of the participants. On the other hand, results also show several challenges and forms of resistance to the implementation of the law, in particular those challenges resulting from the fact that legal gender recognition depended on a clinical diagnosis and the provision of a clinical report.</p>

Highlights

This paper presents research on the enforcement and impact of the first legal gender recognition legislation in Portugal (Law no.7/2011)
Regarding psychological well-being, all participants reported a positive impact; 88.2% of participants reported that legal gender recognition (LGR) had a "very positive" impact in their psychological well-being, and the remaining 11.8% reported that the impact was "positive." Regarding happiness, 76.5% of participants reported that LGR had a "very positive" impact on happiness, while the other 23.5% reported that the impact was "positive." In terms of their family life, 35.3% of participants reported that LGR had a "very positive" impact; 35.3% of respondents indicated that the impact was "positive", and 23.5% of participants reported the impact "was neither positive nor negative"
Regarding the sphere of marriage and love life, 58.8% of participants reported that LGR had a "very positive" impact; 11.8% indicated that the impact was "positive", and 17.6% of respondents indicated that the impact was "neither positive nor negative"

Summary

Introduction

This paper presents research on the enforcement and impact of the first legal gender recognition legislation in Portugal (Law no.7/2011). She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, having initially trained in Clinical Psychology at the University of Lisbon and as a psychotherapist at the Portuguese Association of Cognitive-Behavioral and Integrative Psychotherapies. The trans and non-binary population is comprised of people who identify with a gender that is not congruent with the sex assigned to them at birth These communities tend to be targeted with strong forms of stigma and discrimination, including institutional, social, psychological and physical harassment and violence. International research clearly shows that, for trans and non-binary people, discrimination and stigma have been and remain a reality in most crucial social spheres: within the family and other significant relationships; in schools; in access to employment and in the workplace; in the public space; and in the access to goods and services - including to gender affirming health care (e.g. European Commission, 2012; Hines, 2007; Kenagy, 2005; Lombardi, Wilchins, Priesing and Malouf, 2001; Pinto and Moleiro, 2015; Nuttbrock, Hwahng, Bockting et al, 2010; Rotondi, Bauer, Scanlon et al, 2011; Pitts, Couch, Mulcare et al, 2009)

Methods

Results

Conclusion