The decision of the Italian court caused a storm. It is about changing the gender of a 13-year-old child
The local newspaper “Il Resto del Carlino”, followed by the Italian press on Monday, described the case of a family from the province of La Spezia in Liguria, where two girls were born.
One of the children was until recently considered a girl, but now, also by the state, she is treated as a boy – it was explained.
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What were the reasons for changing the child's legal gender?
What reactions did the court's decision cause?
Who applied for gender change?
What therapies were carried out before gender change?
The newspaper added that it was the sister who first noticed that the latter was beginning to develop more and more masculine features. The parents accepted this new identity and took action on the matter, turning to specialists and then also to the court.
The court decided. The 13-year-old's legal gender will be changed
In the application, the parents argued that their child “has achieved full awareness of the inconsistency between his body and his experienced identity” and is able to “consciously complete the process of restoring harmony between the body and the psyche.” Moreover, they noted that specialist diagnostics confirmed gender identity disorders and their child was started on pharmacological treatment.
The court in La Spezia agreed to change the entry in the birth certificate. As a result of this ruling, the legal gender of a 13-year-old child will change within three weeks. When making this decision, the court took into account factors such as psychotherapy, effective hormonal therapies, and – as the Italian daily noted, quoting the ruling – “mature coping with social difficulties related to transition.”
The Italian organization Pro Vita & Famiglia expressed outrage at the court's decision. In a statement, she emphasized: “A thirteen-year-old cannot legally get even a small tattoo, but he can undergo transition with hormone therapy and gender change in the documents. This is crazy.” The association announced that it would seek to change the law to prevent minors from participating in transition processes.
