Trans(Forming) Family Justice: Respecting Trans and Non-Binary Identities in the Family Law of England and Wales

近年来，关于英格兰和威尔士家庭法中跨性别者和非双性恋者的权利的争论越来越多。一系列备受瞩目的法院判决，以及拟议的立法改革，将人们的注意力集中在家庭生活关键领域的跨性别和非二元经历上，包括亲子关系、婚姻状况和儿童福利。这些判决和政策讨论表明，跨性别和非二元性别人群对法律未能承认他们的生活感到沮丧，法官和政策制定者担心包容性跨性别改革的更广泛后果，以及家庭司法系统无法适应性别多样性。随着跨性别和非二元群体的知名度不断提高，如何在法律上尊重这些群体的问题变得越来越紧迫。在英格兰和威尔士，关于跨性别和非二元家庭法权利的研究相对较少。尽管自20世纪90年代中期以来，法律学者一直在研究性别认同的问题，但他们主要关注的是性别承认以及性别与现代法律的持续相关性。在最近的两项判决中，高等法院指出，缺乏相关的医学法律研究来指导其决策过程。在法律之外——尤其是在社会学、心理学和医学领域——有一个更为成熟的学术体系。然而，尽管这些领域的研究增加了我们对跨性别和非二元家庭的了解，但它很少将法律视为家庭生活中的一个关键变量。在这种社会政治背景下，我的未来领袖奖学金（FLF）将探讨英格兰和威尔士家庭法中跨性别和非二元人口的权利。我将采取多种方法，并与主要利益攸关方（包括社区成员、政策制定者、从业人员和学者）合作，确定可行的改革建议，承认有必要在尊重性别多样性与家庭司法系统中其他（可能相互竞争的）政策目标之间取得平衡。通过跨学科和专业实践领域的一系列合作，我将产生广泛的产出——包括期刊文章、政策简报和讲习班——这些产出将纳入观点，并为众多行为者（包括政府官员、地方当局、NHS临床医生、民间社会团体和家庭法官）的工作提供信息。在1-4年级，我将把我的FLF研究分成五个相互关联的工作包。我设计了这些工作包，以解决家庭法中关于跨性别和非二元权利的五个最紧迫的法律和政治问题：同意儿童性别转变的能力（WP 1），地方当局对跨性别和非二元儿童的照顾政策（WP 2），跨性别和非二元青年的愿望和感受（WP 3），非二元性别承认（WP 4），以及跨性别和非二元成年人建立和维持法律认可的家庭的能力（WP 5）。虽然每个工作包涉及一个单独的问题，但综合起来，这五个方面创造了一个独特的平台，可以调查跨性别者和非二元性别者在家庭司法系统中的更广泛权利。随后，在5-7年级，我将以我的初步发现为基础，创造创新工具，将我的研究结论应用于实践，设计新的活动，进一步探索工作包1-5中参与者确定的优先事项，并从其他司法管辖区的跨性别和非二元家庭法改革项目中学习。在这个快速发展的法律和社会辩论领域，我的FLF将大大提高决策者、临床医生、律师、民间社会团体和公众对跨性别和非二元家庭的理解。它还将加速我自己的专业发展，帮助我在FLF结束时成为公认的国内和国际性别、性和法律领域的领导者。

In recent years, there has been growing debate about the rights of trans and non-binary individuals in the family law of England and Wales. A series of high-profile court decisions, as well as proposed legislative reforms, have focused attention on trans and non-binary experiences in key areas of family life, including parentage, marital status and children's welfare. These judgments and policy discussions reveal trans and non-binary populations frustrated by law's failure to acknowledge their lives, judges and policy makers concerned about the wider consequences of trans-inclusive reforms and a family justice system ill-equipped to accommodate gender diversity. As the visibility of trans and non-binary communities grows, the question of how to legally respect these populations becomes ever more urgent.There is comparatively little research on trans and non-binary family law rights in England and Wales. Although, since the mid-1990s, legal academics have been investigating questions of gender identity, they have largely focused on gender recognition and the continuing relevance of gender for the modern law. In two recent judgments, the High Court noted the absence of relevant medico-legal research to guide their decision-making processes. Outside of law - particularly in sociology, psychology and medicine - there is a more established body of scholarship. Yet, while research in these fields increases our knowledge about trans and non-binary families more generally, it rarely considers law as a key variable in family life. Against that socio-political background, my Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) will explore the rights of trans and non-binary populations in the family law of England and Wales. Adopting a multi-methods approach, and working with key stakeholders - including community members, policy makers, practitioners and academics - I will identify workable proposals for reform, acknowledging the need to balance respect for gender diversity with other (potentially competing) policy objectives in the family justice system. Through a series of collaborations across disciplines and spheres of professional practice, I will produce a broad range of outputs - including journal articles, policy briefs and workshops - which will incorporate the perspectives and inform the work of numerous actors, including Government officials, local authorities, NHS clinicians, civil society groups and family judges. In Years 1-4, I will divide my FLF research into five, interconnected work packages. I have designed these work packages to address five of the most pressing legal and political questions for trans and non-binary rights in family law: capacity to consent to gender transition in childhood (WP 1), local authority policies for trans and non-binary looked after children (WP 2), the wishes and feelings of trans and non-binary youth (WP 3), non-binary gender recognition (WP 4), and the ability of trans and non-binary adults to create and maintain legally recognised families (WP 5). Although each work package engages with a separate question, taken together, these five strands create a unique platform to investigate the broader rights of trans and non-binary individuals in the family justice system. Subsequently, in Years 5-7, I will build upon my initial findings, creating innovative tools to apply my research conclusions in practice, designing new activities to further explore the priorities identified by participants in Work Packages 1-5 and learning from trans and non-binary family law reform projects in other jurisdictions. In this area of fast evolving legal and social debate, my FLF will significantly enhance understanding of trans and non-binary families among policy makers, clinicians, lawyers, civil society groups and the general public. It will also accelerate my own professional development, helping me to become an acknowledged national and international leader on gender, sexuality and law by the end of the FLF.