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

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.