The government wants to modernize the gender affiliation law, but the bill that came in 2018 was harshly criticized by the law council.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Social Affairs sent out a new proposal for consultation.

It contains two new laws - one on certain surgical procedures in the genitals and one on changing the gender that appears in the population register.

The Ministry proposes that children from the age of twelve with the consent of a guardian should be able to change their legal gender by applying to the Swedish Tax Agency, without any examination or contact with the care.

Today, you need a doctor's statement and be 18 years old to change your legal gender.

"Important for the individual"

- It is important for the individual to be able to live in the gender and identity you have.

When talking about changing gender identity in the population register, it deserves to be different from having an intervention in the genitals, says Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S).

It is difficult to say whether the number of applications for a new legal gender will increase if the bill is implemented, according to Hallengren.

- It is still the case that even if you are younger, it is still the guardian's consent required.

Then it is about something that means that you must have landed in that you have a different gender identity than the one in the social security number.

The bill is described by RFSL as a major step for transgender people's rights.

Previous proposals criticized

For gender-correcting medical treatment, the age will continue to be 18 years.

The difference in the new proposal compared to what it looks like today is that no permit from the National Board of Health and Welfare is required to carry out surgery.

The test is done instead by the care.

What matters is the dialogue and process that the individual has with a team of doctors, says Hallengren.

The old bill from 2018 was criticized by the Law Council, among other things, because the government wanted to lower the age limit for having surgery to 15 years, without the guardians' approval.

In the previous bill, it was proposed that those who have reached the age of twelve should be allowed to change their legal gender with the consent of the guardian.

Persons from the age of 15 could also apply for a change of legal gender without the consent of the guardian.