Thousands sign petition for non-binary recognition

Over 127,000 have signed a petition to demand the UK government legally recognises non-binary and gender diverse citizens, meaning the topic will now be considered for debate in parliament. The petition is aiming to “have non-binary be included as an option under the GRP (Gender Recognition Panel)/GRC (Gender Recognition Certificate), in order to allow those identifying as non-binary to be legally seen as their true gender identity.”

It continues: “There is no option of ‘non-binary’ on legal forms, ignoring members of the population. This requires the government to pass a law that publicly recognises ‘non-binary’ as a part of the GRP under the Gender Recognition Act…By recognising non-binary as a valid gender identity, it would aid in the protection of non-binary individuals against transphobic hate crimes, and would ease gender dysphoria experienced by non-binary people.”

Government officials have not yet responded to the petition. While the fees for Gender Recognition Certificates were recently cut to £5, activists say more still needs to be done to accommodate for non-binary people, with Mermaids tweeting: “We welcome the fees for Gender Recognition Certificates being cut to £5, but we need recognition for nonbinary people AND young people! Legal recognition = protection.”