In a landmark ruling this May, the Czech Constitutional Court declared the forced sterilisation requirement for transgender individuals seeking legal gender recognition unconstitutional. This long-anticipated decision, set to take effect by July 2025, marks a significant triumph for trans rights activists who have tirelessly campaigned for nearly a decade to abolish this inhumane practice.
One organisation at the forefront of this battle is Trans*parent, the sole advocacy group dedicated to the rights of trans and gender non-conforming people in the Czech Republic. Viktor Heumann, the Executive Director of Trans*parent, reflects on their journey: “We began this work in 2016 or 2017, initially without the intention to change legislation. But after two years of listening to people’s stories and recognizing the intolerable nature of the existing laws, we knew we had to act.”
The forced sterilisation mandate required transgender individuals to undergo invasive and irreversible surgeries as a prerequisite for changing their gender markers on official documents. “This requirement violates fundamental rights such as bodily integrity, family, and health,” Viktor explains. “While some transgender and gender-diverse people may choose surgery, many do not, and forcing such procedures upon us is both invasive and irreversible.”
“This requirement violates fundamental rights such as bodily integrity, family, and health. While some transgender and gender-diverse people may choose surgery, many do not, and forcing such procedures upon us is both invasive and irreversible.”
In the Czech Republic, this sterilisation requirement is embedded in the civic code and further reinforced by the Act on Specific Health Care Services. While the civic code offers only a brief outline of legal gender recognition, the Act imposes more detailed and restrictive conditions, including mandatory surgery and sterilisation. It also enforces outdated requirements, such as mandatory divorce before changing gender markers and the need for approval from a medical committee. “It’s introducing a gatekeeping approach,” Viktor says. “It treats transgender people as incapable of making decisions about our own lives, giving power to medical specialists.”
To strengthen their advocacy, Trans*parent joined a governmental body focused on LGBTQI issues and began collaborating with key international organisations like ILGA Europe and TGEU, which were already applying pressure on the Czech government.
In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights issued a landmark ruling against France, declaring that requiring sterilisation as a condition for legal gender recognition was a human rights violation. This ruling set a significant precedent, influencing the European Committee for Social Rights to take a similar stance against the Czech Republic. Despite this international pressure, the Czech government was slow to respond. A bill aimed at abolishing the sterilisation requirement was introduced by the then-Minister of Justice, but it was ultimately blocked by the Ministry of the Interior due to a lack of political support.
“Media work is a big part of what we do, and we are lucky enough now to have a wonderful PR communications manager. Putting this in the right framing to the mainstream media was very important. We needed to highlight our stories and explain to the public what this is about.”
In the following years, efforts to change the law stalled. “There was no communication,” Viktor recalls. “They just said it was blocked and that was the end of it. From 2018 to 2019, there were some attempts by political parties to draft a bill, but none gained the necessary support.” Nevertheless, Trans*parent continued to engage with human rights bodies, international organisations, and the media to build momentum for change.
In 2022, the formation of a new government offered a glimmer of hope. Trans*parent seized this opportunity to re-engage with officials, emphasising the harmful effects of forced sterilisation and advocating for its removal. This led to a promise from the Ministry of Justice, under pressure from international bodies like the Council of Europe and the European Commission, to change the legislation. However, the promise lacked specifics on how or when these changes would be implemented.
“We discovered it was stuck in coalition discussions again, with one or two powerful figures opposing the change,” Viktor shares. “The political parties couldn’t reach an agreement. This was a promise which was never fulfilled.”
Determined to see the change through, Trans*parent intensified their advocacy efforts, writing an open letter to the Prime Minister and leveraging media coverage to increase pressure on the government. Sharing the stories of those affected by these practices was paramount to Trans*parent. “Media work is a big part of what we do, and we are lucky enough now to have a wonderful PR communications manager,” Viktor notes. “Putting this in the right framing to the mainstream media was very important. We needed to highlight our stories and explain to the public what this is about.”
They also supported strategic litigation, culminating in the Constitutional Court ruling that declared the forced sterilisation requirement unconstitutional. While this ruling is a significant milestone for the trans community in the Czech Republic, Viktor remains cautious. “Now we have this vacuum, and it’s up to policymakers to draft new legal gender recognition legislation,” he says. “We have one year to act, and we’re pushing policymakers to ensure the new laws don’t introduce other unacceptable conditions.”
As the deadline for abolishing the sterilisation requirement approaches, Trans*parent and their allies continue to fight for a legal framework that respects the rights and dignity of all transgender people in the Czech Republic. “We’re providing analysis and guidance, advocating against real-life tests, mandatory hormone treatments, raising the legal age, and other troubling proposals. We are saying look, the best approach is self-identification or self-determination.”
The struggle for trans rights in the Czech Republic has been long and arduous, marked by setbacks, broken promises, and fierce opposition. Yet, through strategic alliances, international pressure, and unwavering advocacy, Trans*parent and their allies have achieved a significant legal victory. While there’s still much to be done to prevent the new legislation from causing further harm, the resilience of the trans community and their supporters offers hope for a future where everyone’s rights are respected and protected.