Sex change ops under review in Sweden

Published: 30 Jul 09 10:19 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/20996/20090730/

Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation

The Swedish Board for Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) has launched a review of the healthcare alternatives available to transsexuals seeking to change gender.

Organizations representing gay, bisexual and transsexual people have long argued that often inconsistent healthcare services do not cater fully to their needs.

Criticism has centred on issues such as the long delays in the sex reassignment process with variations of up to several years depending on locality.

There are also significant differences in price for various operations and procedures among the county health authorities and inconsistencies in how much the transsexuals themselves have to contribute.

"The hope is that we shall offer healthcare for this group which is of high quality and which is consistent across the country, and that it should improve the quality of life for transsexual people," Håkan Ceder at the board said to Sveriges Radio (SR).

According to legislation passed in 1972, to undergo a sex change operation a person must be over 18-years-old, a Swedish citizen, be sterilized and unmarried.

In order to establish a persons gender a psychiatric examination must have been completed before an application can be submitted to the Health and Welfare Board's legal council for confirmation.

Following the confirmation of a new gender the transsexual person is issued with a new personal identification number (personnummer) and are then able to elect to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

The number of people applying for sex reassignment surgery is increasing.

For thirty years it averaged at about 12-15 people per year until 2003, when it climbed to around 25 per year, according to the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL).

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Fark It! Digg This Facebook  Share everywhere
Send to a friend Printable version Twitter This

Your comments about this article:

The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.

11:26 July 30, 2009 by Hermlover
There are actually FAR more than 25 people per year seeking sex reassignment in Sweden. As usual the medical establishment has a vested interest in making certain 'conditions' appear rare so as not to alarm the general population. There are too many things wrong with the Swedish system to even begin here, but begin I will. WHY is involuntary sterilization mandatory? Is transsexualism something that could be genetic and so must be abolished? How many other groups in society are told they must be sterilized to get medical treatment. How would lesbians and gays feel if that was a condition of their acceptance in society? Something to ponder....
11:59 July 30, 2009 by byke
An interesting article,

What defines a persons sex? DNA structure? Hormonal structure?

or is it just as superficial as a set of boobs and a deposit hole?

I wonder if any male was "unlucky" - (if he morally didnt agree with transgenders) to come across a man disguised as a women (snipped n boobed) and was then say to enter a relationship with such person while unaware of "its" previous history.

Could that male that falsely enters into a relationship with a transgendered sue the state for fraud?

As if the state offers new sexual identities to males who have surgery.

Are they not aiding and abetting fraud?

I am by no means unsympathetic to these issues, however I really am starting to question if it really as simple as adding a hole and boobs and pop a few pills to become a chick ?
12:29 July 30, 2009 by Nemesis
For facts on what transsexualism really is take a look at this link, which tells what causes transsexualism.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v378/n6552/pdf/378068a0.pdf

It is wrongly classed as a mental disorder. Transsexualism starts in the womb, due to pre-natal neuro developmental going in the wrong direction in the brain.

Transsexual people quite often end up in clinics as children, because of this, contrary to the sexual nonsense that is commonly in the media and porn magazines.

As a previous poster has stated, why is there a requirement for sterilisation? The only reason for that is because the psychiatrists are in full knowledge, it is genetic and not psychiatrict.

Regarding Byke's statements. That is complete and utter bigotry. It is straight out of press release's posted by the catholic church in the last 2 months. The origins of Byke's comments are,

http://catholicexchange.com/2009/06/25/119728/
12:52 July 30, 2009 by byke
@ Nemesis

I am by no means a bigot, nor a religious person.

If you cant accept the simplest of questions regarding science and definition of human sexuality then you obviously have no value in commenting on this.

By the way, go and buy a dictionary and learn what the word Bigotry means before spewing such false hatred statements.
13:06 July 30, 2009 by Brenda Lana Smith R Af D
While equal human rights of gender-variant folk who prefer nor or are unable to avail themselves genital reassignment surgery who present as opposite to their registered at birth gender need be fully enshrined in law. Unless Sweden wants rubber stamp the like of Britain' dog's breakfast Gender Recognition Act 2004—that affords questionable validity within and none outside Britain. Particularly not British Overseas Territories—to the chagrin this pragmatic 76-year-old post-operative male-to-female transsexual Bermudian exile who has long advocated that to be legally recognised as opposite to one's registered at birth gender it is lawyerly practical and culturally more digestible that such candidates be medically certified no longer biologically reproductive. Ergo, Sweden, stick with your present legislation...
13:15 July 30, 2009 by byke
So lets say I feel like I am a young person inside a body that I conceder looks older than I feel.

So I go off and get some cosmetic surgery, and now look 20 years younger.

Can I now change my original date of birth to represent the true person who I feel I am ?

And be recognized by the state as a well hung, buff 24 year old.

Rather than a fat 44 year old that I may have been a few weeks previously?
13:37 July 30, 2009 by Nemesis
Byke

I have a very good dictionary. Your questions read as though they are designed to be offensive.

Transsexualism is nothing to do with sexuality. It starts pre-natally and children with transsexualism usually end up in clinics. Sexuality does not kick in until puberty and it is inappropiate to use sexuality references specifically for transsexualism.

If you do actually want to educate yourself then this is as good a starting point as any, http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/TS-III.html as is the link to the publication in Nature, in my previous message, which explains exactly what causes transsexualism.

This link will let you know just how diverse human development really is.

http://bms.brown.edu/faculty/f/afs/Articles/Blackless2000.pdf
19:38 July 30, 2009 by I Love it when ...
thats sucks for the people wanting to get sex changes

doesn't the swedish board of health & welfare , have better things to do
20:28 July 30, 2009 by byke
@ Nemesis

"I have a very good dictionary"

I think what you are meaning to say is that you feel you have a good VOCABULARY LOL. I am not going to knit pick on words, but it appears evident that English is not your first language.

In regards to your links, AGAIN my original process of questions was to understand what defines a male from a scientific perspective and not that of the issues that "Tranys" are faced with. And should authorities allow personal identification information to be altered due to manipulation based generally on cosmetic surgery ?

If I bought what I thought was an Orange, and the shop sign said "Orange".

Then I expect an Orange, and not a kiwi disguised with the peel of an Orange.

(no matter what issues the Orange felt it was)

It would be illegal to sell a so called Orange in this sense as it would be considered fraudulent.
23:16 July 30, 2009 by Nemesis
Byke,

The nature publication is science. Nature is one of the world's premier scientific journals. It does not print persepectives, only facts.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v378/n6552/pdf/378068a0.pdf
04:30 July 31, 2009 by Hedley
Nature is not "science" is journal that publish science, so anyone can rebate it (I can not rebate it, but science works so!).

However, transsexuals may feel more comfortable if they are do a REALLY RISKY OPERATION (ultra-expensive and with high risk of infection), and with careful postoperative controls.

Spend money in such operations could be less profitable that spend in ULTRA HIGH QUALITY PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT (Oh! also needed to be operated).

That is not so easy that just put a couple of boobies and a magic hole!
08:47 July 31, 2009 by Nemesis
I have just noticed something very strange about this article.

The journalist who does not put there name to the article, quotes RFSL, a homosexual and transvestite organisation.

I have done a quick check and the appropiate organisation to have asked for a quote would have been the Swedish organisation foreningen benjamin. http://www.foreningenbenjamin.se/

Foreningen benjamin was the organisation that was the organisation consulted by Socialstyrelsen over proposed rule changes, not RFSL.

Some quick fact checking by the Local would have quickly uncovered that, particulary considering that foreningen benjamin is the primary contact for transsexual issues in Sweden. A basic google search can pop that up, instantly.

Maybe the journalist who wrote the article, could explain why they did not contact the group directly involved and instead contacted a group which tries to lump them in with transvestities?
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Today's headlines
50,000 Swedish households without water

50,000 Swedish households without water

More than 50,000 households in the Karlstad region in western Sweden were without water on Saturday due a serious water leak. Although service has been restored, residents are advised to boil drinking water for the next several days. READ (2 COMMENTS) »

Roddick trumps Söderling in semi-finals

American tennis star Andy Roddick beat sixth-seeded Swede Robin Söderling on Saturday in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 on Saturday. Roddick will now face Ivan Ljubicic in Sunday's tennis final. READ (1 COMMENT) »

Swedish woman faces charges for falsely accusing father of rape

A young Swedish woman who falsely accused her father of rape will now face charges of her own. The father had received a five-year prison sentence in 2007 after the then 17-year-old girl reported he had sexually assaulted her. READ (5 COMMENTS) »

16-year-old arrested for attempted murder

A 19-year-old male sustained serious injuries during a knife fight on Saturday night in the neighborhood of Varberga in Örebro in central Sweden. Another 16-year-old boy was later arrested for the assault. READ »

Risk of Easter strike looms

Negotiations between the Commercial Employees´ Union (Handelsanställdas förbund) and the Swedish Federation of Trade (Svensk Handel) employers' organisation have stalled, according to the trade union. READ »

Human trafficking pair imprisoned on appeal

In the first case of its kind in Sweden, a Stockholm court has found two men guilty of human trafficking after they lured two teenage boys from their home in Romania to a life of crime. READ (8 COMMENTS) »

Annika Östberg moved to rehabilitation centre

Sweden’s convicted double murderer Annika Östberg Deasy, who is due to be released in May 2011, has been moved from a female prison to a rehabilitation centre where she will work at a day nursery for dogs. READ »

Reinfeldt leads voter support poll

Reinfeldt leads voter support poll

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt retains his position at the top of the party leader board in a new survey on voter confidence while support for opposition leader Mona Sahlin continues to decline. READ (7 COMMENTS) »

More National

Blog Update: 110% LAGOM

21 March 11:10

Result! »

"If you read Swedish, the CCCC review is as good as it gets, if not the picture of the crowd speaks a thousand words..." READ »

Highlights
RESTAURANTS »
Find a table at Sweden's best restaurants - then review them on The Local in our new restaurant section
Photo: www.stureplan.se
GALLERY »
Out on the town: March 12-13
Photo: www.erikolsson.se
GALLERY »
Property of the Week
Photo: Chesty Morgan
LIFESTYLE »
What's On in Sweden: March 19th - 25th: Chesty Morgan in Stockholm, Cameroonian Jazz in Gothenburg, a spin on Cinderella in Malmö, English comedy in Linköping.
March in Sweden: Slush, bears and skiing royals
LIFESTYLE »
March in Sweden: Slush, bears and skiing royals
Photo: www.finest.se
GALLERY »
The weekend's 'finest': March 12-13
Photo: Anastasia Pirvu
GALLERY »
Stockholm/Uppsala Street Style, March 7-8
Photo: Piteå Kommun
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Swedish Rail Destinations with SJ: Piteå is best known as a summer destination, but wintertime offers skating across the ice in the Gulf of Botnia and cosy dinners in the pretty town centre.
Latest news from The Local in Germany
Blog
  • 5 questions for Maria Ernestam
    The novels of journalist-become-author Maria Ernestam are both serious and humorous. Sometimes compared with works by Isabel Allende, Fay Weldon, Ingrid Noll and Ruth Rendell, Ernestam's books have...
  • Film studio Sweden
    Sweden — with its midnight sun, northern lights and areas with certainty of snow — is attracting filmmakers from all around the world. Besides an exotic environment, Sweden has other advantages as a...
  • Veronica Hedenmark
    “I’d like to travel and fly without having to think about the practical arrangements — but the practical part severely restricts my movements,” says entrepreneur Veronica Hedenmark, who uses an...
  • Victoria Webster
    Victoria Webster became Sweden’s first specialist in emergency medical care. This attracted considerable media attention, since she has a cerebral palsy (CP)* disorder.
Essentials

Jobs - in Sweden, in English
Get your career on track with our job listings from Sweden's top employers.

Property - renting or buying in Sweden
Navigating the minefield of renting or buying an apartment or house in Sweden.

Weather
"There is no bad weather, just bad clothes," say the Swedes. Here's the forecast for everyone else.

Introducing...
Every week The Local serves up a spicy helping of Swedish celebrity for your delectation.

Stockholm Syndrome
Tales of crazy Swedish classes, hamfisted attempts to understand - and explain - real Swedes, and varied experiences of fellow foreigners gathered for your amusement.

Search News


Register

Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss

REGISTER FOR FREE »

Jobs in Sweden, in English

433 jobs in Sweden, in English
130 new jobs this week
3 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Visiting Stockholm?
Then you'll find The Local's new Stockholm Section useful. Find pics, guides, news and lots of useful information about Stockholm.
www.thelocal.se/stockholm
The Local's new Marketplace
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
Welcome to Adlon Hotel in Stockholm
A perfect location both for business and pleasure. Centrally located, with atmosphere.
www.adlon.se
Winter archipelago tours
Visit Stockholm's beautiful archipelago. Great boat tours for all preferences.
MORE INFORMATION
Doctor of Psychology
Therapy in English

David Schultz PsyD
Individuals & couples
In Stockholm in person or by phone or video conferencing
www.anxiousorblue.se
Play football in Stockholm
Kick-off the new football season with LFC, Stockholm's premier English-speaking football club.
MORE INFO
JOB: Digital Ad Operations Coordinator - Stockholm
The Local seeks a digital advertising specialist to administer advertising operations for our network of sites
FULL JOB DETAILS
Lovely Weekly Apartment Rental-Stockholm
Charming apartment in Lidingö that overlooks the forest, sea and city! 60 sq m, 2 rooms, sleeps 2-4 people. 7969 sek/week.
MORE INFO
Counseling in English Individuals & Couples - Stockholm
Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now
JOB: Sales manager - Stockholm
The Local is seeking a talented media sales professional to drive our online advertising sales
FULL JOB DETAILS