After six hours of deliberation, Sweden’s Parliament has passed a law lowering the minimum age to legally change gender from 18 to 16 and making it easier to get access to surgical interventions.
The law passed with 234 votes in favour and 94 against in Sweden’s 349-seat Parliament.
While the Nordic country was the first to introduce legal gender reassignment in 1972, the new proposal, aimed at allowing self-identification and simplifying the procedure, sparked an intense debate, reports The Guardian.
A recent poll suggested almost 60% of Swedes opposed the proposal, while only 22% backed it.
Beyond lowering the age, the new legislation is aimed at making it simpler for a person to change their legal gender.
“The process today is very long, it can take up to seven years to change your legal gender in Sweden,” said Peter Sidlund Ponkala, president of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights (RFSL).
Two new laws will go into force on 1 July 2025: one regulating surgical procedures to change gender, and one regulating the administrative procedure to change legal gender in the official register.
People will be able to change their legal gender at 16, though those under 18 will need the approval of their parents, a doctor and the National Board of Health and Welfare.
A diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” – where a person may experience distress as a result of a mismatch between their biological sex and the gender they identify as – will no longer be required.
Surgical procedures to transition would be allowed from 18, but would no longer require the board’s approval. The removal of ovaries or testes will remain unchanged, only being allowed from the age of 23.
Denmark, Norway, Finland and Spain already have similar laws, while last week, German lawmakers approved similar legislation, making it easier for transgender, intersex and non-binary people to change their name and gender in official records directly at register offices.
In 2022, citing a need for caution, Swedish authorities decided to halt hormone therapy for minors except in rare cases, and ruled that mastectomies for teenage girls wanting to transition should be limited to a research setting.
The country has seen a sharp rise in gender dysphoria cases, particularly among 13- to 17-year-olds born female, with an increase of 1 500% since 2008, according to the Board of Health and Welfare.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Transgenders nearly eight times likelier to commit suicide – Denmark study
BMA: Allow gender change without medical diagnosis
UK to ban under-18s from surgery to change gender
The costs of puberty blockers for transgender children