New gender identity laws

The party programme makes the struggle for LGBTQ+ people's rights a self-evident part of the party's feminist struggle and rejects all special treatment of transgender people. It particularly attacks society's organization based on two fixed sexes, which supports separating legal gender identity from surgical interventions. The counter-proposal's division into two new laws follows that principle, even though the plan does not mention the law on gender identity.

• no special treatment of transgender peopledecisive»Ingen diskriminering eller särbehandling av homosexuella, bisexuella, transpersoner och queer-personer« (party programme ↗)“No discrimination or special treatment of gay men, lesbians, transgender people, and queer people”
• criticism of the binary sex norm»uppfattningen att det finns och alltid måste finnas två kön och att dessa« (party programme ↗)“the notion that there are and always must be two sexes and that these”
• LGBTQ+ rights as feminism»rättigheter och en självklar del i Vänsterpartiets feministiska kamp« (party programme ↗)“rights and a self-evident part of the Left Party's feminist struggle”
• increased LGBTQ+ knowledge»Inom utbildning, vård, näringsliv och rättsväsende måste kunskaperna i hbtq-frågor öka.« (party programme ↗)“In education, healthcare, business, and the justice system, knowledge of LGBTQ+ issues must increase.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's goal is a society without homophobia and transphobia, where gender identity and gender expression shall not determine people's living conditions. Dividing today's gender recognition act into one law on surgical procedures and one on changing recorded gender in the national register strengthens precisely the individual's right to decide over their own life and body. The plan does not address the legal technique, but the principle of removing obstacles to people's liberation supports the position. The plan therefore supports the demand.

• society without transphobiadecisive»klasskillnader, patriarkat, rasism eller homo- och transfobi« (party programme ↗)“class differences, patriarchy, racism or homophobia and transphobia”
• gender identity as a power structure»bestämd av klass, kön eller etnicitet, av funktionsförmåga eller ålder, av sexuell läggning« (party programme ↗)“determined by class, gender or ethnicity, by functional capacity or age, by sexual orientation”
• decide over one's own life»Människan ska vara fri att utvecklas som individ, råda över sitt eget liv, forma sin tillvaro« (party programme ↗)“The human being shall be free to develop as an individual, to decide over their own life, to shape their existence”

The election manifesto explicitly requires a new gender recognition act to strengthen transgender people's rights, which is exactly what the counter-proposal asks for when the current law is replaced by two new laws. The party programme grounds this in every person's right to be and grow into who they want to be. The plan therefore supports the demand in substance.

• new gender recognition actdecisive»stärka transpersoners rättigheter genom en ny könstillhörighetslag, och införa ett tredje juridiskt kön.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen transgender people's rights through a new gender recognition act, and introduce a third legal gender.”
• right to self-determination»Varje människa har rätt att vara och växa till den« (party programme ↗)“Every person has the right to be and grow into who”
• prevent discrimination»Alla former av diskriminering ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“All forms of discrimination must be prevented.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme binds the party to combat all structures that discriminate, explicitly also on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression, and stipulates every individual's right to create their own identity. The election manifesto sees restrictions on LGBTQ+ people's rights as part of authoritarian development that must be resisted. Legislation that separates registered gender from surgical procedures strengthens individual self-determination and thus aligns with the plan's direction, even though the gender recognition law is not specifically mentioned.

• combat discriminatory structuresdecisive»Vi bekämpar alla strukturer, formella och informella, som förtrycker eller diskriminerar människor.« (party programme ↗)“We combat all structures, formal and informal, that oppress or discriminate against people.”
• right to one's own identity»Varje individ har rätt att skapa sin egen identitet.« (party programme ↗)“Every individual has the right to create their own identity.”
• protect LGBTQ+ people's rights»inskränka kvinnors, minoriteters och HBTQI-personers rättigheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“restrict the rights of women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ people”
• freedom to be oneself»Feminism handlar om att försvara rätten och friheten att vara den man är.« (party programme ↗)“Feminism is about defending the right and freedom to be who you are.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan makes LGBTQ issues into a freedom issue and states the ambition that Sweden shall be the world's best country to live in as an LGBTQ person. Dividing the Gender Recognition Act into a medical and an administrative part strengthens the individual's self-determination and the right to respect for private life, which the plan protects. The plan does not mention the exact legislative construction, but the direction towards strengthened rights is unambiguous.

• LGBTQ reforms as a freedom issuedecisive»Hbtqi-reformer handlar om frihet. Sverige ska vara världens bästa land att leva i som hbtqi-person.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“LGBTQ reforms are about freedom. Sweden shall be the world's best country to live in as an LGBTQ person.”
• equal right to privacy»Alla ska ha samma rätt till respekt för sitt privat- och familjeliv.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone shall have the same right to respect for their private and family life.”
• dignity and integrity»Den enskildes värdighet och integritet får inte kränkas.« (party programme ↗)“The individual's dignity and integrity must not be violated.”
• strengthened LGBTQ rights»Hbtqi-kompetensen i vård, skola och omsorg ska stärkas och ett lagskydd mot omvändelseterapi ska införas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“LGBTQ competence in healthcare, schools and care services shall be strengthened and legal protection against conversion therapy shall be introduced.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not address gender identity legislation. The closest principle is that every person has the same absolute and inviolable worth regardless of sexual identity, and that self-determination is a guiding value in healthcare. Based on that principle, a division into a law on surgical procedures and one on changed registered gender identity can be supported, while the plan requires that the human dignity principle guides the frameworks for medical procedures.

• equal worth regardless of sexual identitydecisive»sexuell identitet, etnisk eller religiös tillhörighet.« (party programme ↗)“sexual identity, ethnic or religious affiliation.”
• self-determination in healthcare»Trygghet, tillit och självbestämmande är, utöver grundläggande värden som liv« (party programme ↗)“Safety, trust and self-determination are, in addition to fundamental values such as life”
• human dignity guides medical ethics»Alla människors absoluta och okränkbara värde ska därför prägla ramar, regler och praktik inom det medicinsketiska området.« (party programme ↗)“All humans' absolute and inviolable worth shall therefore characterize frameworks, rules and practice within the medical ethics area.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not address gender identity legislation, but it takes clear position for LGBTQ people's right to live freely, for gender-neutral family legislation and for tolerance of people's different paths in life. The counter-proposal's demands for two new laws that distinguish surgical procedures from changed civil status registration is in line with that principle of individual self-determination. Since the plan only gives general starting points the conclusion is uncertain.

• LGBTQ people's rightsdecisive»I Sverige ska du kunna leva ett fritt liv, och öppet kunna visa din kärlek, bilda familj och få ett tryggt bemötande av det offentliga, oavsett vilken sexuell läggning du har.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In Sweden you shall be able to live a free life, and openly be able to show your love, form a family and receive safe treatment from the public sector, regardless of your sexual orientation.”
• gender-neutral legislation»Se till att all familjelagstiftning är könsneutral« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Ensure that all family legislation is gender-neutral”
• tolerance for life choices»Toleransen handlar om öppenhet för människors olika vägar« (party programme ↗)“Tolerance is about openness to people's different paths”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto points out hormone treatment and surgical procedures to change children's sex as particularly serious and wants society's handling of children with gender dysphoria to be investigated before new steps are taken. The counter-proposal instead demands new legislation that separates registered sex from surgical procedures and thus facilitates legal sex change, which the plan's line of ending political experiments on children and young people speaks against. The plan does not address this specific legislative construction, so the assessment is derived.

• investigate before reformdecisive»Samhällets hantering av barn med könsdysfori och dess långsiktiga konsekvenser ska utredas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society's handling of children with gender dysphoria and its long-term consequences should be investigated.”
• criticism of sex change procedures»användning av hormonbehandling för att ändra barns naturliga pubertet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“use of hormone treatment to change children's natural puberty”
• stop gender experiments»Avsluta de politiska experimenten på Sveriges barn och unga« (2022 manifesto ↗)“End the political experiments on Sweden's children and young people”
• biological sex as starting point»Människans biologiska kön ifrågasätts och barns naturliga utveckling och intressen har problematiserats.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Human biological sex is questioned and children's natural development and interests have been problematized.”