An unexpected offshoot of the new gender identity law is likely to be a major simplification in the process of official name changes for all citizens.
Dr Roland Wadge, a member of the Notarial Council, said that under new regulations being prepared by the council on the request of the Justice Ministry, a person wishing to change their name will be able to do so by a simple notarial act similar to the deed poll system in the UK.
Currently, the name appearing on one’s birth certificate can only be changed by an application to the court after proving that the new name is that “by which the person has been consistently called”. Dr Wadge was speaking during a panel discussion on the university campus on the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act, introduced last month.
The process would involve a change of name at public registry level. This process would eventually be extended to anyone wishing to change their name
The new law allows, among other wide-reaching changes, transgender people to change their gender by a simple notarial act.
Dr Wadge explained that to ensure “traceability” and protect against abuse on issues like property and bank loans, the process would involve a change of name at public registry level. This process would eventually be extended to anyone wishing to change their name.
Silvan Agius, a policy director at the Civil Liberties Ministry, responded to suggestions that allowing the change of gender without the need for a psychological evaluation would open the door to possible abuses.
“I have never been validated as gay or as a man.
“So why should a transgender person require validation from someone else? Validation breaks apart the notion of self-identification – and the notion that this is a right that all people have to express their gender identity.”
Also speaking during the discussion was six-year old Willa Naylor, a transgender girl.
“When I started living as a girl, I was very, very happy.
“I was no longer in a box. It had been painful living a half life,” she said.
“We can have a more open world by supporting LGBT people,” she said.