LGBT charity Stonewall are calling on the government to introduce gender-neutral passports.
The group is asking the government to introduce a new X classification for UK passports for people who don’t identify with a single gender.
Stonewall say by making the X classification available, going through passport control would become an easier experience. The group said many people who identify as trans were “afraid to travel abroad” because they feared intrusive questions.
The government has said it was reviewing the way gender was marked in official documents, including passports.
A Government spokeswoman said, “The UK already has strong laws in place to protect transgender people and we are committed to delivering further positive changes for them.”
“That is why we have committed to reviewing the Gender Recognition Act to look at ways of streamlining and de-medicalising the process for changing a person’s legal gender, as well as reviewing gender markers in official documents.”
“Alongside this, we are investing £3 million to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Tara Stone, part of the group who helped draw up the report said, “For trans people who identify as non binary, that is neither male or female or some combination thereof, it would give them an option that wasn’t prescriptive, whereas the only options at the moment are prescriptive for them.”
“It basically allows them to express their identity.”
The call comes just days after HSBC introduced gender-neutral titles for their customers.
Customers who have a bank account with the company can now choose from nine titles including MX; Ind and M.
The titles are intended to give non-binary people more choices if they do not wish to be identified by gender.
