On March 21st, the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic advanced the draft Bill No. 301/1995 Coll. on the birth number to the second reading. The adoption of this law would constitute a direct attack on transgender people in Slovakia and, ultimately, on their lives, as it would prevent them from undergoing a legal transition that has been legally permitted in Slovakia for 60 years.

The change in the law would require people seeking official gender reassignment (the term ‚sex‘ is used in the law) to undergo a genetic test to prove that the person’s sex has been incorrectly determined in the past.‘ This requirement is contrary to the latest recommendations of the World Health Organisation and the country’s international human rights obligations.

Every person has the right to self-determination and to live in accordance with their identity. It means that a person has the right to define how they feel regardless of the sex assigned to them at birth and also has the right to express their gender identity through their appearance or behavior. To make this right subject to a medical opinion is a violation of the human rights of transgender people and ignores the latest recommendations of the World Health Organisation.

According to the sponsors of the bill, changing the law would not prevent legal transition, but that is not true. Legal gender recognition in Slovakia is impossible without a change in the birth number. The purpose of gender recognition is precisely the change the gender marker in identification documents. Otherwise, a transgender person would be constantly exposed to involuntary social coming-out and the associated risks of bullying, discrimination, or violence.

A de-facto ban on legal gender recognition constitutes a violation of international human rights obligations that bind the Slovak Republic to protect the rights of every individual, including the right to private and family life, the right to self-determination, and other human rights.

Living with documents incorrectly reflecting one’s gender has enormous consequences for the mental health and well-being of transgender people and their loved ones. By making legal transition impossible, the Slovak Republic would be responsible for human rights violations of thousands of people, as well as for the deterioration of their health, with potentially fatal consequences.

We urge the Slovak parliament not to allow this to happen!