MPs have referred a citizens' initiative calling for reform of Finland's transgender legislation to Parliament's Committee on Social Affairs and Health following a plenary debate on Thursday afternoon.

The initiative, titled "The Right to Be," received the 50,000 signatures required to progress to Parliament earlier this year.

Under Finland's current legislation, a trans individual has to provide proof that they have been sterilised before they can acquire legal gender recognition.

The Finnish government has been facing mounting pressure to reform the act, particularly from human rights organisations and the EU, which have stated that it violates the European Convention on Human Rights.

Competing reform proposals

A working committee, which was assembled as part of the current administration's equality programme, has already started the process of drafting changes to the existing transgender legislation.

According to Yle sources at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the government will present its own proposal to Parliament sometime next spring.

While the overlapping schedules of the citizens' initiative and the government's legal reform process have raised questions, there are key differences between the two.

The content of the government's newly drafted bill has not yet been made public, but initial reports indicate that the amendments would only apply to adults, that is, those aged 18 and over.

"We know that the bill will exclude people under the age of 18, and a key reason for starting "The Right to Be" initiative was to address this issue," Kasper Kivistö, chair of the board of Trasek, an association promoting transgender and intersex rights, said.

The initiative seeks to enable gender to be legally recognised on the principle of self-determination, whereby adults as well as minors can define their own gender.

According to Kivistö, whose organisation is part of the government's working committee to reform the law, the ongoing official process lacks transparency and clarity.

However, it currently remains unclear which proposal will be approved. In 2017, a bill to amend Finland's trans act did not receive enough support from MPS to be considered by a parliamentary committee.