The Council of Europe strengthens the rights of trans people
Strasbourg, 2015: the Council of Europe stands behind trans people and calls for self-determination instead of sterilisation.
On 22 April 2015, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg sent a clear signal. By a clear majority, it adopted the resolution "Discrimination against transgender people in Europe". A body made up of members from more than forty countries thus called for the legal and social equality of trans people.
The text stated what many of those affected had experienced for years. Trans people in Europe faced widespread discrimination, at work, when looking for housing, in the courts and in health care. They were often the target of hate speech, bullying and violence.
The Assembly went particularly far on changing name and legal gender. Member states should create quick, transparent and accessible procedures based on self-determination. The resolution rejected sterilisation, forced divorce or a psychiatric diagnosis as preconditions. In addition, being trans should no longer be classified as a mental illness, without losing access to medical treatment. And states should consider whether a third gender option was needed on identity documents.
The lead was taken by the Maltese member Deborah Schembri. Only a few weeks earlier, her home country had passed one of the most progressive gender identity laws in the world. It did not all go smoothly in Strasbourg, though. Conservative members tried to strike out key demands with amendments.
Such a resolution is not legally binding. It had an effect nonetheless. Organisations throughout Europe invoked the text, and several countries have since amended their laws in this direction. In Switzerland, a simple declaration at the civil registry office has been enough since 2022, and Germany followed in 2024 with its Self-Determination Act.
For many trans people, the resolution meant above all one thing: official confirmation that their rights are human rights.