Description
The project will be developed by ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute, in partnership with ILGA Portugal and the LLH - The Norwegian LGBT Association. The project will assess a legislative measure (law nº7/2011), which aims to promote gender equality in Portugal and was pointed out as innovative in the European context. The lack of legal gender recognition for transgender people triggers situations of social inequality. In recent years, different States have proposed different solutions to overcome this inequality. In 2011, Portugal approved a law that was considered the first law of legal gender recognition that meets the principles of Human Rights. The project has the following objectives: (Obj.1) to assess the implementation and enforcement of the law; (Obj.1.1) to describe how the administrative process created by this legal mechanism has been working; (Obj.1.2) to identify and describe difficulties and processes of resistance to legal innovation; (Obj.1.3) to propose solutions for the eradication of the identified difficulties. (Obj.2) To assess the impact of the law; (Obj.2.1) to understand the impact of the law in the social and psychological well-being of transgender people; (Obj.2.2) to understand the impact of the law on the access of transgender people to vital spheres of social life. The results will also address the possibility of its transposition to other European contexts (such as Norway).
Summary of project results
The lack of legal gender recognition for transgender people triggers situations of social inequality. In recent years, different States have proposed different solutions to overcome this inequality. In 2011, Portugal approved a law that was considered the first law of legal gender recognition that meets the principles of Human Rights (Law N.º7/2011). Thus, this project constituted the first formal evaluation of the Portuguese “gender identity law” - which aims to promote (gender) equality in Portugal and was pointed out as innovative in the European context. The project specific aims were: (1) Assess the implementation and enforcement of Law N.º7/2011; (2) Assess the impact of Law N.º7/2011; (2.1.) Were expected some challenges in the data collection process, mainly because transgender people are, in most cases, an invisible and difficult to reach population. To address this challenge, ILGA Portugal (the main LGBT organization in Portugal and, therefore, with privileged access to the trans community) was responsible for the online survey aimed to the trans population, and also for the recruitment of trans participants for the interviews. The products developed by the project (a final and public report, a brochure, a national conference in Lisbon, a workshop in Oslo and two academic papers) already are, and will continue to be in the future, vital tools for the (national and international – including in Norway) public debate on legal gender recognition. In parallel, the academic papers will contribute significantly to the academic discussion in this area. The products are expected to be appropriated by national actors and entities (including policy makers) in order to overcome the difficulties and barriers in the implementation of the law identified by the project and described in detail in the final products. The project outputs benefited both partners (ILGA Portugal and LLH). The documentation process on the barriers and difficulties that transgender people have in accessing legal gender recognition in Portugal supports ILGA Portugal in its advocacy efforts regarding trans people’s rights. In fact, after the formal end of the project, a new law proposal was presented in the Parliament matching the project outputs and recommendations. Moreover, the overall assessment of the Portuguese gender identity law assisted LLH in advocating for the approval and implementation of a gender identity law in Norway – which happened in June 2016.
Summary of bilateral results
During the project implementation, various and important contacts have been made between LLH and ISCTE-IUL/ILGA Portugal, in order to share the recent developments regarding policy and law making on legal gender recognition both in Portugal and in Norway. Furthermore, logistics regarding the final conference in Oslo have been arranged by all partners throughout the project. Communication has been carried out mostly by email and skype, but in two occasions it was possible to have face-to-face meetings, which proved to be of significant relevance: the main researcher had a meeting with the Norwegian team in Athens (when attending the ILGA-Europe Annual Conference); and a LLH representative was in Lisbon, in January 2016, to participate in the international seminar “Partnering up for gender equality” – which provided the opportunity for a face-to-face meeting both with ISCTE-IUL and ILGA Portugal. In the end of the project, bilateral relations were reinforced and both countries shared knowledge and expertise on legal gender recognition: in Norway, a new law entered into force in June 2016, and the Portuguese law is expected to be revised in the upcoming months.