The Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka issued a circular in June 2006. This circular grants transgender persons the right to legally change their gender in their birth certificates. Transgender persons can use their birth certificate to legally change their gender in other identity documents. The circular also recognises the discrimination and violence faced by transgender persons.
The circular recommends certain procedures to change identity documents:
- Only those above 16 were eligible to apply.
- Applicants must obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) after an assessment with a psychiatrist
- The GRC must be certified by a consultant psychiatrist and then the head of an institution under the Ministry of Health.
The circular provides the process for transgender information management. It directed the Directorate of Mental Health to maintain the following two documents:
- Transgender Notification Register – It should include details such as name, date of birth, gender assigned at birth, desired gender, national identity card number, and clinic number.
- Gender recognition Certificate – Three copies of the Certificate were to be prepared. The applicant, the hospital, and the Directorate of Mental Health would each receive one copy.
The Ministry of Health directed every institution to provide specialist psychiatric care and make them of the procedure of issuing GRC.
READ THE CIRCULAR HERE