interview
Status: 03/31/2023 11:57 am
Attacks on trans people in Germany are increasing. In the media, they are still not presented without stereotypes, says Bundestag member Tessa Ganserer in an interview tagesschau.de.
tagesschau.de: Since 2009, International Trans Visibility Day has been celebrated on March 31 every year. As a member of the Bundestag, you are particularly in the public eye. How do you experience the climate for trans people in Germany?
Tessa Ganserer: It’s not about me here, it’s about the fact that we can see from the statistics that we have seen a significant increase in transphobic violence in Germany for several years. And there is a whole series of studies that make it clear that transgender people are still massively affected by discrimination in all areas of life.
To person
Tessa Ganserer has been in the Bundestag for the Greens since 2021. From 2013 to 2021 she was a member of the Bavarian state parliament. She is a trained forester and belongs to the working group on the environment, nature conservation, nuclear safety and consumer protection of the Green parliamentary group.
tagesschau.de: How do you explain this increase in discrimination and hostilities?
Tessa Ganserer: We are currently experiencing a simultaneity. In recent years, the visibility of transgender people has increased significantly, including increased visibility in the media. Very often the representation is still very stereotyped. Far too little is reported about the real problems and discrimination of transgender people.
And of course this visibility also makes us vulnerable. At the same time, we have observed a significant increase in anti-trans narratives and hate speech in social media in recent years. From the looks of it, this always spills over into real life. And that’s why we have to sanction anti-trans hate comments in the social media very decisively.
Tessa Ganserer, B’90/Die Grünen, on the situation of trans people in Germany
tagesschau24, March 31, 2023
tagesschau.de: The traffic light coalition is planning a self-determination law. According to media reports, one of the issues is that it is easier to change the first name and also the gender entry, for example in the passport. So far, two psychological assessments have been necessary for this. How do you rate this legislative proposal?
Tessa Ganserer: First of all, it should be noted that the previous so-called transsexual law from the 1980s caused so much suffering. Blood and tears cling to this law. And it has meanwhile been declared partially unconstitutional in six individual judgments by the Federal Constitutional Court. The last verdict is from 2011.
Until then, transgender people were forcibly sterilized and had to undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to change their official civil status. Since then, this has no longer been applicable because it constitutes an unconstitutional encroachment on physical integrity. What remains is the compulsory assessment, the psychopathologization.
It is so long overdue that we in Germany are finally catching up on what many EU member states have already implemented in recent years. The Council of Europe has also been demanding since 2015 that the member states abolish these compulsory assessments.
tagesschau.de: In your opinion, what political changes are needed to make things easier for trans people in Germany?
Tessa Ganserer: In any case, we still have completely inadequate medical care. In the health sector we have structural discrimination. Access to medically necessary measures is made more difficult or even impossible for transgender people. That is why we also want to improve the legal entitlement of transgender people in the healthcare system and anchor the legal entitlement to medical measures in the Social Security Code.
tagesschau.de: What social changes do you wish for in the future?
Tessa Ganserer: As a politician, we can and must abolish discrimination and disadvantages in the law. However, we cannot get rid of rejection, prejudice and group-related enmity with just the nicest debates in the Bundestag. Society as a whole is responsible for treating other people with decency and respect. That we are all committed to good social and non-discriminatory coexistence.
Politicians must of course take a stand and set a good example. With the action plan for acceptance and diversity, we will clearly support measures that promote acceptance in society. And where a lack of acceptance turns into discrimination, into exclusion or even into hate violence, we have to protect ourselves as a constitutional state, as a society.
tagesschau.de: And if you look a little further into the future, what do you wish for future generations?
Tessa Ganserer: I would wish for a future society in which no transgender person would have to be afraid of coming out. In which she is proud and knows that she is right the way she is and is also accepted. That no one in this society has to experience malice, ridicule, exclusion or even violence because of group-related characteristics, because of their transgender nature.