federal government
Simplified gender entry: what the traffic light is planning
A rainbow flag waves in the wind. photo
© Focke Strangmann/dpa
So far, it has been complicated for those affected to officially change their own gender. The federal government wants to change that with the Self-Determination Act.
In the future, every person in Germany should be able to set and change their own gender entry and first name. That is the core of the draft self-determination law by Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP), which is to go into the cabinet in the near future. But some formulations cause criticism.
The traffic light parties had agreed on the project in their coalition agreement. It is aimed at transgender, intergender and non-binary people. If someone wants to change their gender entry, a declaration and self-insurance must be submitted to the registry office in the future. The change in gender entry is to take effect three months after the declaration. Once the gender entry has been changed, a blocking period of one year should apply. Then you can change the gender entry again.
According to the draft law, “trans” are people who do not identify or only identify with the gender that was assigned to them at birth. “Inter” means having congenital physical characteristics “that cannot be clearly classified as (only) male or (only) female according to medical standards”. “Non-binary” is defined as a self-designation for people who identify as neither male nor female.
Some EU countries have already introduced self-determination laws
Children and young people cannot change their gender entry themselves. Up to the age of 14, the legal guardians must submit the declaration to the registry office, after that the legal guardians only have to agree.
In the EU, some countries such as Ireland, Denmark or Portugal have already introduced self-determination laws. Switzerland, Argentina and Uruguay, among others, also have such laws. For the Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Ferda Ataman, the self-determination law is long overdue. “Because the “transsexual law” that has been in force since the 1980s is really bad, largely unconstitutional and has harmed people,” said Ataman.
Many trans people find the “transsexual law” humiliating. It provides, for example, that those affected may only officially change their first name and gender after a psychological assessment and a court decision. They often have to put up with very intimate questions. The process is also lengthy and expensive. The Federal Constitutional Court had repeatedly declared essential parts of the law to be unconstitutional.
Concerns with regard to the justification text
When it comes to the draft of the new Self-Determination Act, however, Ataman has reservations about the explanatory text: The rules on house rules “excessively deal with right-wing populist arguments in an unusual way.”
Criticism of the self-determination law comes mainly from the Union and the AfD. Left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht had recently warned of dangers for women, for example in women’s saunas.
For the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, this is an irrational debate. “It was said that one now had to worry whether men and women were still clearly defined and whether men would now change their gender entry and then gawk at women in the sauna,” said Ataman. “In Germany we mostly have mixed-gender saunas. No man has to have his gender entry changed in order to see a naked woman in Germany.”
“Supposed horror scenarios” not realistic
The justification states, among other things, that a registered gender does not automatically give you access to protected rooms. Private domiciliary rights should continue to apply, i.e. the right of the owner to determine who, for example, enters his apartment or business premises. However, the General Equal Treatment Act protects transgender people from discrimination based on their gender identity, which means that they cannot be rejected on the basis of their gender.
Nevertheless, this irrational argument was dealt with in the explanatory memorandum to the law. “Here are comments on saunas and the fact that house rules apply,” said Ataman. “There’s no other way to put it, in this case the legislature gave in and sort of caved in. I still hope that the text of the regulation and the text of the justification will be adjusted.”
The German Women’s Council also dismisses such “supposed horror scenarios” in which men change their gender entry in order to invade women’s spaces as unrealistic. This would be misused in a targeted manner to stir up dangerous prejudices against trans people, said Chairwoman Beate von Miguel. “We are resolutely opposed to that.”
There is still time to change the explanatory text – it is still unclear when the draft will make it into the cabinet. After that, the law also has to pass the Bundestag.