“The expressed fear of each petitioner was that documentation and other evidence of their female gender identity prior to transition might surface at critical moments of needed protection and care for his child, to the detriment of the child’s best interests.”
A new NY law now prevents the denial of adoption petitions based on the fact that parental status has already been legally recognised.
The matter is another reminder of just how difficult family law matters can be for transgender people, who already face so many injustices in society. Family court proceedings can be especially traumatic for trans people. During divorce, spouses of transgender people sometimes try to use their ex’s trans identity against them, particularly in child custody matters. This is often simply a result of the ex-spouse’s own feelings of abandonment and betrayal and their resultant hostility to the ex. Attempts may be made to claim that the transgender person is an unfit parent or a danger to the children — but this has no scientific validity. But the raising of the parent’s gender identity or gender history as an issue in court proceedings involving transgender co-parenting also means the trans person can experience a distressing loss of privacy.
Further, while advances in trans equality have been made in recent years, sometimes it has not completely trickled all the way through to all lawyers and members of the judiciary, meaning there is often still bias present – even if it is not acknowledged. It may be that the lawyers or judges simply refuse to use someone’s preferred pronouns or name and to recognise the desired gender status, which is essentially dehumanising. In terms of acceptance in the wider community, the ABC reports that the majority of Australians (59%) agree that “people should be referred to by the gender pronoun they identify with, even if it differs from the one assigned to them at birth”.
How many Australians actually identify as transgender?
According to last year’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) release of 2016 census data, just 1,260 “sex and/or gender diverse people” were counted in Australia on census night, of whom 26% described themselves as transgender. Note that the ABS says this figure is believed to reflect under-reporting due to trans people’s justified fear of experiencing disrespect, abuse and discrimination if they revealed their gender identity in an official document.
Source: Law.com
Here at Alliance Legal Services, we offer targeted support for transgender clients across the whole spectrum of family law matters including transgender co-parenting issues. If you are transgender and need assistance with a family law matter, please contact Canberra family lawyer Cristina Huesch or one of our other experienced solicitors here at Alliance Legal Services on (02) 6223 2400.
Please note our blogs are not legal advice. For information on how to obtain the correct legal advice, please contact Alliance Legal Services.
You might also like to read our recent blog on transgender family law issues.
