Wider Recognition Outside the Gender Binary

As passed
Conference notes that: 1. Rising numbers of people in the UK identify themselves as having a gender different to that assigned at birth, and that the 2011 census did not give non-binary individuals the option of expressing their gender, with the only options for the sex question being male or female. In the 2001 census, 0.4% of the population (235,000 people) did not answer the question on sex. Those who express a transgender identity have to cope with social stigma, bullying and discrimination. 88% of respondents to a government transgender survey said ignorance was the biggest challenge transgender people faced in employment, and 50% said they had been harassed or discriminated against at work because of their gender identity. There is a noted difference between sex as assigned at birth and how one defines their gender. In order for someone to obtain a gender recognition certificate, must have lived in their identified gender for at least two years and also have a medical diagnosis of gender identity disorder/gender dysphoria. It is rare for both the state sector and private sector companies to give people the option of expressing their gender beyond the terms male and female. That LGBT+ Liberal Democrats has a strong history of representation of the transgender community, including several members of their current executive. That the Liberal Democrats were the first mainstream party to have elected openly transgender representatives, and that the parliamentary party also have a history of supporting transgender rights, including the first attempt at a Gender Recognition Bill in 1996. That the fates of the LGB community and the transgender community are inexorably linked; for example, the bill that prohibited same-sex marriages in 1971 was designed to codify into law the case that nullified the marriage of April Ashley, a transgender woman who married a man. That during the Committee and Report Stages of the current Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill, which LGBT+ Liberal Democrats members helped author, that members of the parliamentary party including Julian Huppert proposed and supported amendments to rectify concerns of the transgender community, including regarding marriage restoration, the spousal veto, and pensions. That in 2006, Liberal Youth helped lead the way in anti-homophobia with the Homophobia is Gay campaign. That the Government has launched the first Transgender Action Plan to seek to represent transgender people better in the law. That certain issues, including #TransDocFail, the Julie Burchill saga in The Observer, and the suicide of Lucy Meadows, have caused a wider exposure, appreciation, and understanding of transgender activism and transgender issues. That there has been a rise in criminal cases in which a trans person has been charged with the crime of obtaining sex by deception for not disclosing their gender, and that the Court of Appeal judgement in McNally v. R. found that lack of disclosure can invalidate consentwhereas lying about age, marital status, wealth, or HIV status cannot. That section 12(h) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 makes a marriage voidable if a person holds a GRC (from prior to their marriage) and the current Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill and Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill both contain provisions that can prevent a person from legally transitioning if their spouse objects, and can rescind a

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GRC if a person does not disclose their marriage on their application to the Gender Recognition Panel known as the "spousal veto". 14. That, in regards to current statutory law, the Government and Civil Service have opposed any rectification of the mentioned issues due to a stated concern for the rights of a cis spouse. Conference believes that: That the transgender community faces widespread daily prejudice, leading to large rates of mental health issues, discrimination, and hate crime, and that there is nothing liberal about transphobia. Transgender people are part of our society and part of our party, and we should campaign for them simply because it is the right thing to do. 2. A person's gender identity and their gender as assigned at birth are not necessarily the same thing. 3. It is too simplistic to describe sex or gender as completely dimorphic, and that many people, whether they are transgender or not, do not fit into every criteria of what is male or female, whether biologically, socially, or by any other means. The recognition of nonbinary genders, both officially and socially, are an important step towards a society in which no-one shall be enslaved by ignorance or conformity. 4. People who identify or express themselves under the transgender umbrella, by whatever terms they choose, should be allowed to be recognised as such without requiring medical transition, and not be forced to define within the gender binary of male and female on documentation. 5. That the Government and Civil Service attitude to trans-friendly amendments to the Marriage Bill exposes a wider institutional transphobia, and that it was wrong for the previous Government to refuse to allow transgender people to keep their marriages, dilute their own Gender Recognition Act to cater to the prejudices of a small transphobic community, and for the current Government to refuse to rectify these previous mistakes. 6. That it is not enough for those in power to make statements on transgender issues, and that it is their responsibility to take action on those statements. 7. That the judgement in McNally and current and proposed marriage law creates an undue obligation on the part of trans people to create documented proof of disclosure of their status before engaging in any intimacy. 8. That judgment and statute will have the effect of criminalising and ghettoising transgender sexuality due to trans people not willing to undertake that obligation in the fear it may out them or otherwise bring harm to them. 9. That trans rights and recognition are in danger of being rolled back to a token offering. 10. That a focus on the rights of cis people at the expense of trans people can never create trans equality. Conference Resolves: 1. That Liberal Youth Policy Committee work with LGBT+ Lib Dems towards submitting a policy to Federal Conference, that calls for action on the points raised in this motion and a transinclusive parliamentary manifesto for 2015 and beyond. To commend members of LGBT+ Liberal Democrats for their campaigning on transgender issues and against transphobia, and Julian Huppert and several other MPs both in and out of the party for their speeches on the floor of the House of Commons. To campaign for this Government and future Governments, without delay, to rectify the issues raised by the transgender community regarding the Marriage Bill and other Acts of Parliament, as part of a wider campaign for a fairer deal for transgender people and for fairer gender recognition. 1.

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To work alongside other organisations, including but not limited to the National Union of Students, Trans Media Watch, Press for Change, and Mermaids, to campaign for a greater awareness of transgender issues and transphobia within society. To encourage more transgender people, in Liberal Youth and the party as a whole, to seek positions of power, and to run for elected office if they are able to do so. To campaign for the judgement of McNally to be legislatively reversed immediately, section 12(h) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to be repealed immediately, and for the spousal veto and related provisions regarding fraudulent GRCs to be removed immediately.