Swedish Parliament votes to lower age limit for people to legally change their gender

Stockholm, April 17

The Swedish parliament passed a law Wednesday lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16.

Young people under 18 will still need approval from a guardian, a doctor, and National Board of Health and Welfare.

However, a gender dysphoria diagnosis — defined by medical professionals as psychological distress experienced by those whose gender expression does not match their gender identity — will no longer be required.

The vote was 234 for and 94 against with 21 listed as absent.

The centre-right coalition of Sweden’s conservative prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has been split on the issue, with his own Moderates and the Liberals largely supporting the law while the small Christian Democrats were against it. The populist party with far-right roots Sweden Democrats, who support the government in parliament but are not part of the government, also opposed it.

Among others, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Spain already have similar legislation. In the UK, the Scottish parliament in 2022 passed a bill, allowing people aged 16 or older to change the gender designation on identity documents by self-declaration. It was vetoed by the British government, a decision that Scotland’s highest civil court upheld in December.