Photo by
City of Reykjavík
Trans Ísland, Iceland’s trans rights advocacy organisation, was awarded a 500,000 ISK grant from the Gunnar Thoroddsen Memorial Fund, the City of Reykjavík has announced.
Trans Ísland was awarded the grant yesterday at the historic Höfði house in Reykjavík, in honour of their hard work and dedication for the betterment of trans rights in Iceland. Since their inception in 2007, they have not only been very active in educating the general public on trans issues, but have also been actively involved in legislation which expands the rights of trans people in Iceland.
Perhaps the most significant example of this legislative work was in the crafting of the gender determination law which was passed last June. This law, the creation of which Trans Ísland played an active part, removed many of the road blocks trans people had previously faced in terms of access to trans-related health care, changing of legal name and gender marker, and more.
Nonetheless, trans people—in Iceland as in the rest of the world—still face considerable prejudice and discrimination, and the awarding of this grant will go towards the organisation being able to continue their work in fighting against bigotry.
The Gunnar Thoroddsen Memorial Fund was established in 1985 by Benta and Valgarð Briem on the 75th anniversary of the birth of Gunnar Thoroddsen, a life-long politician for both Reykjavík City and Parliament. The purpose of the fund, which is maintained by the City of Reykjavík, is to provide support for individuals and organisations doing work in the fields of humanitarianism, health and culture.
Related

Yesterday, Reykjavík District Court found in favour of a trans man whose employer denied him medical leave pay for gender affirming surgery. He has been awarded both the sum total of his denied pay and legal fees. According to the ruling, the man in question had been confirmed by psychiatrist…

November 20 is the Trans Day of Remembrance, where we honour the memories of people who have been murdered for being trans. This is a global event, and Reykjavík will be hosting a manifestation of its own. The event begins at 17:00 at Harpa Concert Hall with a light show,…

As ever The Reykjavík Grapevine heads for world domination, and the first part of our complexed scheme is, of course, Podcast. You can get our newest podcast on all of the usual platforms, from Spotify to all of the podcast app’s you can find in your phone. Not only that,…

Despite the fact that there has been highly increased demand from trans youth for trans health care services at the Child and Youth Ward (BUGL) at Landspítali hospital, the trans team at BUGL was disbanded earlier this month, Vísir reports. This decision was made due to both a lack of…

In the wake of recent news that nonbinary people in Iceland can now register their correct gender with the National Registry, one wrinkle in this news has attracted the criticism of Trans Iceland: the cost. As reported, the passage of Iceland's gender determination law in 2019 legally required the National…

Iceland's gender determination act, which was passed in 2019, emphasised that trans people have the same rights as cis people to use showers and changing rooms that are in accordance with their gender. To this end, the City of Reykjavík has issued guidelines to operators and staff of such public…

November 20th is the Trans Day of Remembrance, wherein trans people the world over honour those who lost their lives to transphobia over the past 12 months, whether to murder or suicide. Iceland was no exception, as the trans community in Reykjavík and beyond took part in the memorial. For…

Member of Parliament Andrés Ingi Jónsson raised the issue of the 9,000 ISK fee being levied on people who seek to change their name and gender marker in the National Registry, Kjarninn reports, during a parliamentary session yesterday. As reported, shortly after Iceland celebrated taking the important step of finally…

According to a new assessment from ILGA-Europe, Iceland has moved up in rank, from 18th place to 14th out of 49 European countries when it comes to queer rights. This is in large part due to last year's passage of a law expanding the rights of trans people. At the…