Repeal Section 33! We are launching a campaign for trans rights

We are launching a major campaign calling on the new Hungarian Parliament to repeal the amendments introduced by Section 33 of Act XXX of 2020, which made legal gender recognition impossible in Hungary. Under the current legislation, transgender people cannot have their gender and name officially recognised in accordance with their gender identity, forcing thousands of Hungarian citizens to live with documents that do not reflect who they are.

Under Section 33, adopted in May 2020, a person’s sex at birth, determined on the basis of biological characteristics, must be recorded in the birth register, and this information cannot subsequently be changed. This exclusionary provision therefore prevents trans and intersex people from having official documents that reflect their gender identity and the social reality in which they live. Whenever they are required to prove their identity, they are forced to disclose an intimate and deeply private aspect of their lives that is no one else’s business.

Section 33 is exclusionary and violates the human dignity of those affected and their right to respect for private life. Already in 2002, the European Court of Human Rights established that trans people have a right to legal recognition of their gender identity and that legal gender cannot be determined solely on the basis of biological criteria. In its judgments against Hungary in 2023 and 2024, the Court reaffirmed the State’s obligation to provide effective procedures for legal gender recognition. We have therefore decided to launch a campaign aimed at reaching both decision-makers and the wider public, sharing stories that demonstrate the extremely harmful impact of Section 33.

Because the transgender community is relatively small, the lives and experiences of its members are not always visible from inside the walls of Parliament, and to many people the lack of legal gender recognition may seem like little more than an administrative inconvenience.

But it is much more than that. Because of Section 33, trans and intersex people face painful, humiliating and absurd situations on a daily basis – experiences that are largely unknown to people who are not transgender. The people taking part in our campaign share these negative experiences publicly, often under their own names and showing their faces, in the hope that their stories can help bring about change.

They give the public a glimpse into humiliating and deeply personal moments in their lives: being prevented from paying for a purchase in a shop; forced off public transport despite having a valid ticket; avoiding travel abroad for fear of problems at border control; or being humiliated in a crowded doctor’s office by being called by their deadname – the name on their documents that they no longer use.

“Unfortunately, we received far more stories than the 33 we selected, and even these represent only a fraction of the incidents people actually experience,” said Hella Zsirka, Executive Board Member of Háttér Society. “It is unacceptable that legislation adopted without any meaningful public debate and for political gain should make the lives of thousands of people so difficult. We call on the Hungarian Parliament to repeal without delay the provisions amended by Section 33 of the omnibus bill submitted by Zsolt Semjén and to establish a quick, transparent and accessible procedure for legal gender recognition.”

As part of the campaign, we are also launching a petition, allowing supporters to add their names to the call for the repeal of the changes introduced by Section 33.

You can read all the stories and sign the petition here. We will also be sharing the 33 personal stories on our social media channels over 33 days.