Hong Kong eases but doesn’t eliminate surgical requirements for ID gender change

Hong Kong has introduced new rules around changing gender on ID cards (Image: Vecteezy)

Hong Kong has amended its policy on allowing transgender individuals to change their legal gender on identification documents, no longer requiring full gender reassignment surgery but still mandating certain surgical procedures, its government announced on Wednesday (3 April).

The new rules come over a year after Hong Kong’s top court ruled that the previous requirement for complete sex reassignment surgery to alter one’s gender marker on their ID card was unconstitutional. However, transgender rights advocates have criticised the revised policy for retaining what they view as overly invasive surgical stipulations.

Under the updated guidelines, transgender men must undergo a mastectomy, while transgender women must have their penis and testes removed in order to change their gender

READ MORE OF THIS POST AT Attitude