Sweden cuts red tape for changing legal gender

STOCKHOLM - After four years of waiting, Jenny Leonor Werner sees the light at the end of the tunnel, able to legally switch gender following a recent change to Swedish law.

As of July 1, Sweden has removed some of the restrictions for changing gender legally and how it appears on official documents.

"It just feels good -- one less thing to worry about," Werner, 22, who was declared male at birth but identifies as female, told AFP.

Now all that is needed to change is a medical certificate stating that a person's gender identity does not align with the one indicated on their birth certificate.

Healthcare professionals have to evaluate whether the change better reflects the person's gender identity and must ensure that the person can live with their new gender identity for the foreseeable future.

The minimum age to make the change has also been lowered from 18 to 16 years, although people under 18 need permission from their legal guardian.

A week after the law came into effect, 106 people had submitted applications, according to Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare.

Previously, individuals wanting to change their legal gender had to undergo a lengthy evaluation process in order to obtain a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

That is a condition where a person experiences distress as a result of a mismatch between the sex they were assigned at birth and the gender they identify themselves as having.

Werner had received this diagnosis in 2024 after a four-year process and could have already requested the legal change.

But healthcare staff advised her "to wait for the new law, as the process should be faster".

GENDER DYSPHORIA RISE

Access to surgical procedures is also simplified under the new law -- the requirement to first change one's legal gender has been removed.

Before the law was passed in April of last year, it was preceded by intense debates in parliament, with the right-wing ruling coalition government divided.

The Moderates and Liberals were in favour of the text but government partner the Christian Democrats opposed it, as did the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which is propping up the government.

"This law is a major step forward. The separation of law and medicine in the new law makes things much easier," Frank Berglund, a policy expert at the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU), told AFP.

Berglund, 30, legally changed his gender at the age of 19.

Like Werner, it took him about four years to obtain the gender dysphoria diagnosis.

Currently, the waiting time to even begin an evaluation can stretch to several years, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare.

The health agency has also noted a sharp increase in cases of gender dysphoria, particularly among 13- to 17-year-olds who were "assigned female at birth".

The agency reported a 1,500-percent jump between 2008 and 2018.

Following the rapid increase and citing a need for caution, Swedish authorities decided in 2022 to halt hormone therapy for minors except in very rare cases.

They also limited mastectomies for teenagers wanting to transition.

SHORTER WAITING LISTS

Berglund said the new law would help "reduce waiting lists in healthcare to some extent".

He also welcomed the possibility of making the legal change before the age of 18, saying it was absurd that he had been able to complete the entire medical procedure before 18 but not the legal process.

"I had already changed my name, started hormone treatment and received the diagnosis," he said.

Werner recounted being asked: "Is this you?" when showing her identification card.

"Now I can get a new ID card that I'm really happy with," she said.

"I've never been satisfied with the ID cards and passports I've had before."

With the new law, Sweden is amending its gender identity legislation for the first time since it was first adopted in 1972.

Back then, the Nordic country became a world pioneer by allowing people to legally change their gender.

But campaigners want Sweden to go further and allow people to change their legal gender without requiring a medical certificate, as is the case in all other Nordic countries.