Media Reporting and Reference Guide on LGBT Issues

Greece: Two-speed LGBT reporting:
Increasing visibility but still facing prejudice.
Thanasis Theofilopoulos <strong>and</strong> Philippos Paganis
1. The status of LGBT people in Greece.
Only in the very recent past has there been some advancement in the recognition <strong>and</strong>
protection of the human rights of LGBT people in Greece, through the enactment of relative
legislation, including the expansion of the civil union to same-sex couples, the law for legal
gender recognition <strong>and</strong> the recognition of the right to fosterage for same-sex couples.
Expansion of the Civil Union (Law No. 4356/2015): in December 2015 the law for the civil
union was exp<strong>and</strong>ed to cover same-sex couples. According to the new law, same-sex couples
can form a legal agreement to regulate their cohabitation. Same-sex couples have equal
rights with different-sex couples in terms of employment, public insurance <strong>and</strong> heritage
issues. The right to parental care <strong>and</strong> adoption are not foreseen for same-sex couples, in
contrast to different-sex couples. Civil Union is the only form of legal recognition for samesex
couples, since the Greek State does not recognize marriage between same-sex partners
in any way. Τhe right to adopt or have children through surrogacy/assistive reproductive
procedures hasn’t been vested for same sex couples.
Legal Gender Recognition (Law Νo. 4491/2017): in October 2017 Greece passed a new
law for legal gender recognition. With this law, trans people over 17 years old can change
their legal documents without the prerequisite of a psychiatric diagnosis or other medical
interventions; underage people (15-16 years old) need the consent of their parents/legal
guardians <strong>and</strong> the positive consultation of a multidisciplinary committee. The law also
includes provision to ensure the person’s privacy. However, there are several shortcomings;
the procedure is judicial, which makes it time-consuming <strong>and</strong> costly, <strong>and</strong> doesn’t include
options beyond the gender binary. The person’s name <strong>and</strong> gender cannot change in
their children’s birth certificates (for children born before the legal gender recognition).
Furthermore, single status is required <strong>and</strong> access to the procedure is limited to people who
have had their birth certificate issued in Greece, excluding trans refugees, migrants <strong>and</strong>
Greek citizens who were born in another country. 7
7
In 2018, Natasha a recognized refugee in Greece <strong>and</strong> transgender woman, with the support of her lawyer
Aikaterini Georgiadou (from NGO Hellenic League for Human Rights), managed to change the name <strong>and</strong> gender
on her official documents. The Greek court’s decision for Natasha is considered “groundbreaking” with a
potential international impact. According to Natasha’s lawyer:
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