Uruguay: Trans people can now self-identify their gender, without surgery

Transgender people in Uruguay are celebrating after the country’s Congress passed a comprehensive trans law yesterday (18 October).

The law brings in a host of new rights for transgender people.

Most notably, trans people can now self-identify their gender and update their legal name, without approval from a judge.

The new law also creates scholarships for trans people to access education, as well as sets up affirmative action. It also now acknowledges the self-identification of non-binary people.

The comprehensive law also creates a monthly pension for transgender people born before 1975. This is a way of making reparations for trans people who were targeted by the government during the country’s dictatorship from 1973 to 1985.

The reparations are effective of 1 January this year and affect anyone born before 31 December 1975. Read more via Gay Star News