Intergroup welcomes new Commission report on trans and intersex discrimination

The European Commission has just published a new report, ‘Discrimination against trans and intersex people on the grounds of sex, gender identity and gender expression‘. With it, the European Commission looks into the situation of trans and intersex people for the first time.

Trans and intersex people - Discrimination on the grounds of sex, gender identity and gender expressionThe European Commission had already studied discrimination based on sexual orientation, but this is the first time gender identity and gender expression are examined in depth.

The report was commissioned through the European Network of Legal Experts in the non-discrimination field. It was authored by two experts from ILGA-Europe and the University of Leiden.

The European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights welcomes this thorough analysis of the current EU legal order in relation to trans and intersex people.

The report was delivered as part of the Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015. The European Parliament had previously asked that gender identity be included in the Strategy.

Michael Cashman MEP, Co-President of the LGBT Intergroup, commented: “I warmly welcome this new report. It’s as thorough an analysis one could hope for, and a very powerful contribution both legally and politically. Trans and intersex persons’ fundamental rights are the same as everyone else’s, and they deserve to be free from discrimination.”

Ulrike Lunacek MEP, the other Co-President of the LGBT Intergroup, continued: “This new report is what the European Commission said it needed to further look into the fundamental rights of trans and intersex people. This is an area in which the EU should be a world leader, and I look forward to the proposals the European Commission will make on the basis of this study.”

The Intergroup will consider the appropriate follow-up through its parliamentary work.

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