Transsexuals win latest round on ’recognition’
By Toby Helm, EU Correspondent, in Brussels
TWO British men who underwent sex changes but were refused the right to alter their birth certificates won an important round yesterday in a campaign for full legal recognition.
Kristina Sheffield and Rachel Horsham, both 51, protested that British law restricts their rights and breaches the Human Rights Convention. They also argued that the law, which determines gender on “biological indicators” at birth, cannot be justified on social, medical or scientific grounds.
The Human Rights Commission, which advises the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, ruled by 15-1 in their favour. The ruling increases the men’s chances of success when the case is considered by the Strasbourg court later this year.
Kristina, from London, who had a sex change in 1986, has been granted a passport and driving licence in her new name but is still officially a man in law. As a result, she was required to divorce her ex-wife before the surgery and cannot marry a man. Rachel plans to marry her male partner in Holland, where she has lived since 1983, as the law recognises transsexuals.
John Wadham, director of the civil rights group Liberty, said: “The next Government should not wait for the decision of the European Court but act immediately.”
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