Passport within reach
16 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Transgender
I’ve never had a passport. When I visited Fiji, Tonga, Noumea, Western Samoa and American Samoa with my ex and our children back in the early 80′s it wasn’t necessary. And I don’t really have a travel-bug. But it would be nice to have a passport now just in case I suddenly get the urge to visit NZ or Hawaii.
Until this week, to get a passport with my correct gender on it, I had to get statutory declarations from TWO doctors certifying that I have had gender reassignment surgery. I could then have my birth certificate changed to show I was Female and only then would the Department of Foreign Affairs issue me with a passport showing my gender correctly.
This was an overly bureaucratic process and clearly favoured those like me privileged enough to have the finances and good health to undergo the surgery. It was bad law which was identified as such by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Well, this week all that changed. No more is there a need to change a birth certificate. No more is there a need for statutory declarations from two doctors.
At my next visit to my doctor, I will ask for a letter from her certifying that I have undertaken treatment to change from living as male to living as female.
And then I’ll get my first passport, just in time for my 60th birthday.
Meanwhile, I’m now averaging over 10,000 step per day and the kilos are starting to drop away. All good.
