Experts applaud abortion reform in Spain and the new law to protect the LGTBI collective

A group of independent UN human rights experts* have welcomed a reform of Spain’s abortion law, which guarantees sexual and reproductive rights in the country.

The experts highlighted that the reform guarantees access to safe abortion in state health centers, eliminates the so-called “reflection” processes arbitrarily imposed on women, guarantees access for all women (including lesbian, bisexual and single women) to assisted reproduction techniques and makes Spain the first European country to legislate menstrual leave.

In addition, comprehensive sexuality education will be part of every year of compulsory schooling, and the bodily autonomy of women, and young women in particular, will be further protected.

The measures related to sexual and reproductive rights were approved together with a comprehensive legislation against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientationgender identity and sexual characteristics.

“The history of feminism is a history of persistence in the face of social injustice,” say the experts. “Described as a fundamental feminist achievement, this legislation has been adopted as part of an ambitious agenda for the progress of Spanish society.”

End of conversion therapies

Equal parental rights for lesbian mothers, the prohibition of genital mutilation for intersex children, and the adoption of measures to put an end to the so-called “conversion therapies” perpetrated against LGTBI people are some of the specific characteristics of this national program to promote social inclusion in all sectors, including health, employment, education, culture and the business world.

The experts pointed out that the legislation aligns the Spanish system of recognition of gender identity with that of self-identification, cataloged by the UN as best practice.

The new system guarantees legal certainty through the possibility of judicial review, appropriately placing the burden of proof on the party that questions and on the State, and not on transsexuals and other individuals of a different gender. In this way, arbitrary, humiliating and harmful obstacles to legal recognition have been removed.

“These laws were adopted through a thoughtful and participatory parliamentary process that took six years, and with the advice of UN experts,” they added.

“Legislative measures such as these address the root causes of widespread human rights violations against women and girls and the LGTBI community,” the experts noted.

The group urged other countries to follow the example of Spain and encouraged state and non-state actors to base their discussions on scientific evidence and not on prejudice.

The experts highlighted the role of survivors of violence and civil society throughout the process. “Every time we observe the adoption of a law, public policy or jurisprudence that promotes equality, we immediately we remember the work of human rights defenders, survivors and activists”, the experts said.

“They were the ones who provided their stories, collected the evidence, and carried out the advocacy and persuasion work so that the Spanish authorities could conclude that these legislative measures are key elements to guarantee that all people can live free and equal in dignity and rights,” they added.

*The group of experts is made up of: Dorothy Estrada-Tanck (chair). Ivana Radačić (Vice President), Elizabeth Broderick, Meskerem Geset Techane and Melissa Upreti of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls; Tlaleng Mofokeng, special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Farida Shaheed, special rapporteur on the right to education; Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; Victor Madrigal-Borloz, independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The experts are part of what is known as the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.