The Federal Cabinet is also discussing the Self-Determination Act today. It is intended to make changing gender entry easier for trans and non-binary people. Those affected see the draft law as historic.
So far, transgender and non-binary people have had to undergo a complex procedure with two psychiatric assessments if they want to change their gender entry or first name. A court must then decide. The average cost of the procedure is 1,900 euros. Those affected have to pay for it themselves. These regulations are laid down in the Transsexuals Act of 1980, which the Federal Constitutional Court found to be largely unconstitutional. The federal government wants to change the regulations with the so-called self-determination law.
The draft law provides: From the age of 18, a change of gender entry and first name should in future be possible without Appraisals at the registry office may be possible. For minors up to the age of 14, the legal guardians should be able to have a change made. Minors aged 14 and over may submit the declaration of change themselves. However, it only becomes effective if the legal guardians have given their consent. If this is not the case, a family court can replace the consent. The best interests of the child should guide the decision.
discriminatory Experiences
The fact that there is a draft law for the first time that is intended to fundamentally change the previous regulations is “historic” for Kalle Hümpfner from the Federal Association of Trans*. The Self-Determination Act has been “longingly” awaited by many trans and non-binary people for years. These people would often live with identification documents that did not match their appearance or identity. In everyday life, this repeatedly leads to problems and discriminatory experiences.
Hümpfner experienced this himself. For example, when it was assumed that the EC card was the one Girlfriend because the name on the card didn’t match the appearance. Hümpfner also felt particularly scrutinized when traveling and being checked by the police. When the psychological strain became too great, Hümpfner decided to have himself examined in order to have his first name and gender entry changed. But the process is a degrading procedure. Intimate questions are often asked, for example about masturbation behavior. For those affected, the new draft law would be a “very big step,” says Hümpfner. “But also in society as a whole, in order to perceive social diversity as a natural part of our society.”
Union has concerns
The Union has fundamental concerns about the project. Especially with regard to the planned regulations for minors. From the point of view of family policy spokeswoman Silvia Breher, children and young people are not being encroached on in a disproportionate manner in the parent’s constitutionally protected right to bring up children. The criticism of the CDU politician also refers to the case that parents do not make a statement about minors under the age of 14, for example because they disagree.
According to the draft law, “the family court can then replace the declaration of the custodian or partially withdraw the custodian’s custody for this matter” if there is a risk to the child’s well-being. Especially in “developmentally sensitive phases like puberty” the closest caregivers should not be left out of such a serious decision, says Breher. She also criticizes that the traffic lights ignore the concerns of child and adolescent psychiatrists. There is a fear that young people during puberty “could make hasty decisions about gender reassignment,” says the CDU politician.
Factual debate “desirable”
However, the draft law is not about gender reassignment medical measures. This was explicitly stated in the draft. The German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (DGKJP) has this clarification in their opinion welcomed. If there is talk that it is also about gender reassignments, it creates confusion, says Hümpfner from the Federal Association of Trans*. An objective debate is desirable, in which one specifically refers to the content contained in the draft.