Dutch civil law violates the human rights of transgender people. That is the conclusion of a report published by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday. The Dutch government is urged to change the law without delay.
Article 28 of the Dutch civil code requires transgender people to take hormones and undergo surgery to alter their bodies and be permanently and irreversibly sterilized before they can have their gender legally recognized on official documents. However, not every transgender person wants to undergo irreversible gender altering surgery.
Human Rights Watch says the article constitutes a violation of international human rights instruments by making recognition of gender identity conditional on medical intervention. Article 28 was introduced in 1985. The report shows its impact on the daily lives of transgender people in the Netherlands.
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