Gender Advocacy Center Fighting for human rights

An independent, student funded Concordia organization has filed a human rights complaint to try to ease the procedure of changing one’s legal gender.

According to the Link, under the current Quebec Civil Code, anyone wanting to change their legal gender has to first undergo sexual reassignment surgery, be at least 18 years old and be of Canadian citizenship.

Peer Support and Trans Advocacy Coordinator at the Centre, Gabrielle Bouchard says the obligatory surgery is the same as “forced sterilization.”

On August 11, the Gender Advocacy Center filed a complaint with the Quebec Commission for Human Rights and Youth Rights, asking to end the surgical modification requirement, allow non-citizens to apply, and to implement a minimum age of 14 or younger with parental consent.

The Center has also started a crowdsourcing campaign to raise money for the legal expenses involved. Of their six thousand dollar goal they have raised nearly one thousand nine hundred dollars.