Transgender teens like Corei Hall and Brianna Ghey have often been misgendered in death.
But thanks to a new update to the child death notification form and child death reporting form, Trans and Nonbinary youth will now be honoured in their gender on death certificates in the UK.
This change brings more than just honour to those who have passed, and peace to families who are mourning - it will also create a better picture of the issues trans youth are facing, how these issues can lead to their early deaths, and how we can stop that from happening.
The notification of child death form now asks for the child's sex assigned at birth and the gender they identified as at the time of death (if ten years or older). Sadly this means that trans and nonbinary youth under the age of ten will not be recognised in the gender they identified as at the time of death - GOV
Through my campaign Trans Kids Deserve To Grow Up, I’ve seen the impact that children being misgendered has on families. Several families have told me that their child was misgendered and deadnamed on legal documents, online, and in the media.
Following his death, 14 year old Corei Hall was misgendered on X. His family received transphobic harassment to such an extent that his mother made her accounts private.
Sharing Corei’s story online, with support from his family, highlighted how the discrimination that trans youth face doesn’t stop when the person is no longer with us, and this can make the grieving process even harder for trans kids’ families.
As a nonbinary person in the UK, I do not have legal recognition. Nonbinary people are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, under the “gender reassignment” characteristic, yet we still do not have legal recognition on legal documents.
It’s something that causes me real dysphoria whenever I have to present legal documents. And it’s made worse because we know it’s possible - 18 countries do recognise nonbinary people on documentation, both in life and death.
Being recognised and remembered as the person you are in death is our basic human right. But we also need to be recognised and honoured in life too.
Research shows that more than half of trans and nonbinary people are misgendered on their death certificates. But we know this data is skewed as many Trans+ adults and young people aren’t out publically at the time of their death, or are not recognised by their family - Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
With more reliable stats on the death rate of trans and nonbinary youth, organisations who support and advocate for trans youth would better understand the issues youth are facing and be better able to provide them with the care and support they want and need.
This update to the notification of child death process is significant as it shows that we can make change happen.
Following Brianna Ghey’s death, a petition was launched calling for changes to the Gender Recognition Act to honour her gender at the time of her death. Labour MP Charlotte Nichols also called for changes to official death documentation in January this year, allowing families the option to ‘have their loved ones recognised legally as they lived’ - Warrington Guardian
Trans and nonbinary young people are finally being recognised in their gender at the time of their death. But at this time, nonbinary adults are still waiting for their identity to be legally recognised, meaning we will be misgendered in death as we are in life.
Knowing that the community rose up to fight for this update should motivate us to keep being vocal and making change happen. As a result of this action, we will have a much better understanding of the impact of transphobia and discrimination on our young people.
With more concrete data, we can work together to ensure that trans and nonbinary youth make it to adulthood, and that they are honoured, respected and treated with human decency in life and death.
Surviving and Thriving
Some parts of the queer experience are harder to talk about than others.
At QueerAF, we don't shy away from addressing the difficult topics. Sex, politics, even death - it's all part of the spectrum of our queer lives, and we're here to talk about it.
Why? Because we always want to learn more! We're curious about every aspect of queer life - that's why we bring you fresh new queer perspectives each and every week.
But we can't do it alone. And we don't just mean we need your financial support (although we do!) - we need people to be curious with! It's no fun otherwise.
If you're enjoying joining us on our learning journey every week, please consider becoming a QueerAF supporter.
With your support, we can keep on shining a light on the parts of our lives that other media don't have time for.
