‘A campaigner has lost a legal challenge against the government over gender-neutral passports.
Christie Elan-Cane argued a policy preventing someone from obtaining a passport with an unspecified gender was unlawful on human rights grounds.
But the Court of Appeal ruled the policy did not amount to an unlawful breach of the activist’s human rights.
In a ruling on Tuesday, three senior judges dismissed the appeal, which was contested by the Home Office.
‘Social invisibility’
Christie Elan-Cane – who has been campaigning for legal and social recognition of non-gendered identity for nearly 30 years – described the decision as “devastating”.
“It is bad news for everyone who cannot obtain a passport without the requirement imposed by the UK government that they should collude in their own social invisibility,” the campaigner said in a statement.
The appeal centred on the lawfulness of the government’s current policy on gender-neutral passports.
At the moment UK passport holders have to indicate whether they are male or female. Several other countries, including Canada, Australia and Germany, now have a third option.’
Read more: Christie Elan-Cane loses legal challenge over gender-neutral passports
