The Ministry of Social Affairs wants to strengthen the rights and participation of queer people in Bavaria with an action plan. “Being able to live self-determined, with equal rights, free of discrimination and violence – that must be a matter of course for everyone in Bavaria, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation,” said Social Affairs Minister Ulrike Scharf (CSU) on Wednesday.
Non-heterosexual people or those who do not identify with the traditional role model of men and women or other social norms relating to gender and sexuality describe themselves as queer.
So far, Bavaria was the only federal state that did not have an action plan for sexual and gender diversity. In March, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) surprisingly announced such a queer action plan in a podcast.
Social Affairs Minister Scharf said: “With the Queer Action Plan, we are now taking further specific measures to create awareness, raise awareness and strengthen cohesion and togetherness.” The corresponding advisory services should be expanded across Bavaria, specialists trained, companies supported with diversity plans and initiatives and organizations from the field networked. “The Queer Action Plan thrives on the gradual involvement of the most important actors,” says Scharf. First of all, she wants to invite associations and organizations to a discussion.
The Greens in the state parliament welcomed the fact that the government now wants to introduce an action plan. “However, the queer action plan was not decided by the cabinet with the broad support of the entire governing coalition, as in the other federal states, but passed on to the Ministry of Social Affairs,” said the queer policy spokesman for the state parliament Greens, Florian Siekmann.
With its own motions in the Social Affairs Committee, for example in the areas of education, police, sport and health, the parliamentary group wants to show on Thursday how concrete measures can really be implemented in all ministries.
Last November, the federal government also decided on a comprehensive catalog of measures for the acceptance and protection of sexual and gender diversity in various fields of action – including better legal recognition, more participation and better advisory structures for queer people.