Call to let Scots children swap gender on birth certificate

Children as young as 12 should be able to change gender on their birth certificate without parental backing, Scotland's commisioner for young people has said.

Scotland's Children and Young People's Commissioner, Bruce Adamson.

Speaking in response to a Scottish Government consultation into updating gender recognition laws, Bruce Adamson said youngsters who believed they were born the wrong gender should be able to make the amendment without seeking parental approval.

He said: “It would be illogical for parental consent to then be required for legal recognition of a transition the young person has been able to effect without it.”

Scotland's Children and Young People's Commissioner, Bruce Adamson.

He added denying transgender children the ability to exercise their right to legal recognition risked breaching the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Free Church of Scotland rejected the calls, saying that any move to allow children under 16 to obtain legal recognition of their acquired gender was irresponsible and would cause distress in many families and confusion among vulnerable teenagers.

The Scottish government said it was analysing the consultation responses.