LGBT rights in France
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that France’s requirement that transgender people undergo sterilisation in order to obtain legal gender recognition is a violation of the right to respect for private life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Court held that making recognition of gender identity conditional on a medical operation amounted to making the right to respect for private life conditional on relinquishing the right to respect for one’s physical integrity. The Court ruled, however, that there was no breach of Article 8 regarding requirements for applicants to prove they had gender identity disorder or to undergo a medical examination. Transgender Europe hailed the decision as a “victory”, while describing the part of the ruling on medical examinations as “regrettable”, and commented that “the 22 states in which a sterilisation is still mandatory will have to swiftly end this practice”.
Same sex foster parents in Japan
Osaka has become the first city in Japan to recognise same-sex couples as foster parents, after the city government registered two men as the foster parents of a teenage boy who has been under their care since February. The couple attended lectures, training and reviews by the city’s child consultation centre in autumn 2015, and the city granted their request for guardianship after determining that the couple understood the foster care system and were financially capable of raising a child. While there is no law excluding same-sex couples from becoming foster parents in Japan, many same-sex couples find their applications rejected by public authorities. Previously, a female couple were recognised as eligible to become foster parents, but only individually as single parents. According to the country’s welfare ministry, 45,000 neglected or physically abused children are in need of foster care, and many activists call for recognition of more types of foster parents to care for these children.
Bron: Nieuwsbrief CRIN (Child Rights International Network)