Lo Lill, 16, is one of many young Swedes who are happy that Sweden may soon have a new gender identity law.
– That means everything. Going and waiting for two years feels very unnecessary, so getting one step closer to that means a lot, she tells TV4 Nyheterna.
For 16-year-old Lo Lill and a large number of other trans people, the right to be able to change their legal gender is important. Something as simple as picking up a package at the post office can be anxiety-ridden when the wrong gender is written on the ID documents.
When TV4 Nyheterna visits Lo in Malmö, she sits in the bedroom of the family’s home and records a program for her own web radio. What started as a small hobby project has grown into five radio channels with tens of thousands of listeners each week.
She says that the radio is more than just a hobby as it has become her creative haven where she can blossom in peace.
– I have received comments like “damn trans” and people have thrown water and kept going. It’s not great fun, it can ruin an entire day, Lo Lill tells TV4 Nyheterna.
Transgender people more exposed to violence than the general population
Lo’s situation is not unique and according to the RFSL, trans people are more vulnerable to violence than the rest of the population.
In addition to that, the waiting time to receive gender-affirming care is long, and today you can wait as long as four years to change your legal gender. An important change for many trans people, who are reminded with anxiety every time they have to show their ID or passport.
Lo explains that it is a safety issue because any identification can lead to one having to involuntarily come out as trans.
– When you feel that you are not allowed to be yourself, it becomes very difficult. There will be a lump in the stomach, she continues.
“Sixteen is a good age”
Lo cannot get a female social security number yet because she is not yet 18 years old. This despite the fact that she has long since completed her investigation at the gender identity clinic and has lived as Lo for most of her life.
Today, minors cannot change their legal gender, even though trans people are involuntarily exposed on the internet when sixteen-year-olds are listed in the credit bureaus’ registers.
– If you are fully investigated and have gone through so many processes, I still think that sixteen is a good age, says Lo.
If the new Gender Reassignment Act goes through, you might be assigned female as your legal gender before you come of age, what would that mean for you?
– That means everything. Going and waiting for two years feels very unnecessary, so getting one step closer to that means a lot, she replies.
FACTS: The Gender Identity Act
On July 1, 2025, a new gender identity law could come into force that would simplify the currently long process that trans people have to go through to change their legal gender somewhat. The issue has been investigated for over 15 years and on April 17 the Riksdag will vote on the new bill.
How does changing legal gender work today?
It is the National Board of Health and Welfare’s Legal Council that decides whether you can change your legal gender and undergo the operations mentioned in the law. The Judicial Council is independent from the rest of the National Board of Health and Welfare, and consists of doctors, psychologists and politicians.
In order to be able to change your legal gender, you need to meet several requirements today:
You need to have been diagnosed with transsexualism. You need to be 18 years old and registered in Sweden. You need a special medical certificate.
In most cases, you need to have been in contact with the gender-affirming care for at least two years for the Legal Council to approve the application.
Sweden was the first in the world to give people the opportunity to change their legal gender. The law, which was basically unchanged until 2013, required those who wanted to change their legal gender to be infertile and unmarried. The sterilization requirement was abolished in 2013, and transgender people then became the sixth ethnic group in Sweden to undergo state sterilization operations.
Criteria that need to be met:
You need to have turned 16, be registered in Sweden and/or a Swedish citizen, have a legal gender that does not match your perceived gender identity, and “are expected to live in this gender identity for the foreseeable future”.
A doctor or psychologist needs to write a certificate that these points agree with you and send it to the National Board of Health and Welfare, which then makes a decision.
Source: RFSL, RFSU