Status: 04/13/2022 3:18 p.m
A trans girl was almost beaten to death in Herne at the end of March. The motive for the crime has only now become known. Not an isolated case, according to experts, transphobic offenses are often not recognized.
On March 26, three young people seriously injured a trans girl in Herne. the police reported on March 28, investigating an attempted homicide. It was further said:
According to the investigation, the 15-year-old got into an argument with three younger Hernern (12, 13, 13) in the area of the cemetery on Gartenstrasse early on Saturday morning. They then brought the 15-year-old down and kicked and punched him before fleeing. A witness found the badly injured 15-year-old and called the emergency services. The teenager was taken to a hospital for treatment. His condition is now stable.
What was not mentioned in the police statement: The victim is a 15-year-old trans girl. The police told the t-online portal that the victim was not yet available at the time of publication and was therefore unable to speak for himself. In addition, the victim was still registered as a male person on the ID card – and had become identifiable with the reference to the trans identity.
The person concerned and her mother have now turned to the public, in one RTL interview they report on the history of the young people, hostilities and the serious act of violence in Herne.
Large dark field
The case is an example of the difficulties in recording transphobic crimes. Although official figures are available, there is probably a considerable number of unreported cases.
Transphobic crimes have only recently been included in the statistics. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, 204 politically motivated crimes in the field of “gender/sexual identity” were recorded in 2020, including 40 acts of violence. The vast majority was directed against sexual identity, the Ministry said on request. This means anti-trans motives. Most offenses were registered as right-wing motivated or could not be assigned. The figures for 2021 will not be presented until the beginning of May.
“Watch More Cases”
“Among the anti-queer crimes, transphobic offenses are the most common,” says Sarah Ponti from the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany (LSVD). “According to our observation, transphobic crimes are increasing,” said the LSVD policy officer in an interview tagesschau.de. The problem is that there is hardly any research on it. Therefore, the causes are also unclear: “Is it to do with the growing visibility of trans people? Or is the anti-trans mood increasing? Or both?”
When recording transphobic violence, Ponti criticizes imprecise categories. The police therefore have problems assigning crimes. But that should get better: Transphobia will soon be introduced as a subcategory.
New subcategories
The Federal Ministry of the Interior explained at the request of tagesschau.de, the subtopic “gender/sexual identity” has been differentiated since the new year. “Since then, corresponding crimes have been recorded separately in the categories ‘misogynist’, ‘anti-male’ and ‘gender-related diversity’,” said a spokesman. “This expands the possibilities for differentiated analysis.”
But there are other hurdles. LSVD consultant Ponti points out that transphobic hate violence is often not recognized by the police or public prosecutors because transphobic motives are not mentioned in the relevant criminal laws. “Those affected also often conceal the motives,” explains the LSVD officer, either out of shame or because they didn’t trust the police. Many didn’t even go to the police.
Points of contact at the police
In Schleswig-Holstein, among other places, the police therefore have a central office point of contact created to “create trust”. Crimes can only be solved or prevented if those affected turn to the police, according to the website of the contact point. Also in Berlin, Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and other countries have similar institutions.
Such contact points are helpful, says Ponti, in order to increase the willingness to report. Petra Weitzel, chairwoman of the German Society for Transidentity and Intersexuality (DGTI), however, criticizes that the tasks of these “contact persons for same-sex lifestyles” are not uniform: “Some are only responsible for internal employees, most for complaints about the police and internally , and others only for external complaints.” According to Weitzel, there is no such position in North Rhine-Westphalia, because it is said that it is not needed.
“Neutral description is the best”
Weitzel believes that this could also indirectly have played a role in the Herne case: officials at the scene of the incident were not made aware and the press office could only report what they found out. “In a specific case, you would have known based on the clothing and after questioning the parents or the legal guardians.” From the DGTI’s point of view, the police “with their publication are still contributing to the resentment that we see as the cause of the crime”.
The police could simply write person instead of boy or girl, Weitzel suggests. From the association’s point of view, this should be “mandatory in all cases until the actual, expressed gender has been clarified”. A neutral description of the facts is the best.
The DGTI also emphasizes that it is not enough to train the police better. “Further investigations are being conducted by the public prosecutor’s office. “However, there are no special contact points here.” This also applies to many courts. Training for the police, public prosecutor’s offices and courts is therefore necessary.
“Intimidate Entire Populations”
Hate crime is the “most massive form of expression of homophobia and transphobia,” emphasizes the lesbian and gay association. What is special about these crimes is that they are not only aimed “at people as individuals, but also at intimidating entire population groups”, so the LSVD.
Associations have therefore been calling on the federal government for some time to set up an independent commission that would draw up a systematic inventory and present a status report with recommendations for action. The commissions on anti-Semitism and antiziganism are cited as examples.
Waiting for implementation
Politicians have obviously recognized the problem. The Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK) has already stated that it is “concerned that violent, sometimes serious attacks on lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people” occur again and again. Surveys suggested that there is also a high number of unreported cases. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of the Interior should set up an independent panel of experts. At the IMK autumn conference in 2022, the committee should present an initial report with specific recommendations for action.
But the goal could be missed: Associations are still waiting for the expert commission to this day. “So far nothing has happened,” says Ponti from the LSVD. In addition, the coalition agreement also provides for a national action plan, she emphasizes. dgti chairwoman Weitzel said there were talks with the federal government’s queer commissioner. However, it is still unclear when the action plan is to be implemented.