Austrian court moves to recognise 'third gender'

Austrian court moves to recognise 'third gender'

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Senators Penny Wong and Janet Rice gave emotional responses to an anti-vilification bill introduced to the Senate on Wednesday, September 13. Mathias Cormann’s bill seeks to fine people who vilify, intimidate or threaten harm “on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or religion.” Those found in contravention of the bill face fines upwards of $12,000, Sky News reported. The bill will be presented to the lower house on Wednesday afternoon. In response, Wong, who has two children with partner Sophie Allouache, spoke about the “difficult” marriage equality campaign and called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to do more to protect children during the debate, who were being treated, she said, as “collateral”. “I would say to the Prime Minister, this b ill does something but it doesn’t do enough and you need to stand up for those Australians who don’t have a voice.” Rice then gave an emotional response discussing her experience marrying a man 30 years ago, who is now her transgender wife. She discussed how they are forced to “self-censor” in public and acknowledged the difficulties living in Australia in a same-sex relationship. A postal survey asking whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry will be mailed to 16 million Australian voters from September 12, after the High Court ruled on September 7 that the government’s $122 million plebiscite was lawful. The results of the survey will be available on November 15. Credit: Australian Parliament via Storyful

Austri an court moves to recognise ‘third gender’.Source:Supplied

AUSTRIA’S constitutional court has ruled that people not wanting to be identified as either male or female should have the right to do so when completing official forms.

The decision marks a big step towards the formal recognition of a third gender.

The court, responding to a request from an intersexual militant known as Alex Juergen, invoked the European Convention on Human Rights to insist that the legislature introduce the option of “other” or “inter” where civil register forms ask a person’s gender.

“For the first time in my life, I feel like am being recognised as what I am, how I was born,” said Alex Juergen, whose real identity remains a secret.

A sign about bathroom use at a HB2 protest rally of the new North Carolina law which denies rights to those who are gay or transgender.Source:Supplied

The constitutional court’s decision was hailed by opposition social-democrat, liberal and ecology parties.

However the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), junior partner in Austria’s coalition government, slammed the court’s decision as “totally incomprehensible” saying it raises “numerous problems, notably concerning military service or retirement age.”

The court stressed in its ruling that Article 8 of the European human rights convention guarantees the right to “an individual sexual identity” and protects “in particular, people with an alternative sexual identity”.

The article in question states that “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life”.

Sydney’s Inner West council is going to create a pride centre and hire a LGBTQI project officer. Picture: AAPSource:News Corp Australia

Last November neighbouring Germany became the first European nation where the justice system called for the official recognition of a “third sex”, a decision followed in May by the Netherlands.

Source: Google News Austria | Netizen 24 Austria