Gender change made easier in Germany

Changing gender is becoming easier in Germany thanks to the entry into force on Friday of a flagship and hotly debated law ;e of Olaf Scholz's government, welcomed with relief by the LGBT+ community.

A simple declaration to the civil registry is now enough: Germany joins the club of countries that have adopted liberal legislation in this area, around ten in Europe including the Danish precursor, Belgium, Switzerland and last year, Spain.

“I am very happy because it is a historic day for the recognition of sexual diversity and for the recognition of human rights and transgender and non-binary people in Germany”, declares the environmentalist Nyke Slawik, one of the two transgender deputies of the Bundestag, in an interview with AFP.

The “self-determination law” allows people who wish to change their first name and gender to make a request to the local civil registry office, then to make it official by returning there three months later.

They can choose between four possibilities: feminine, masculine, various or “no mention of gender”.

Pre-registrations have been open since August 1. According to the magazine Der Spiegel, some 15,000 people have already applied.

– “Degrading expert reports” –

The new text replaces a law dating from 1981, which provided for a costly and lengthy procedure requiring two psychological reports in which candidates had to answer very intimate questions about their sexuality. In the end, a judge decided whether or not to grant the request.

A placard reading “Self-determination law forces women to lie” during a demonstration organized by the feminist association “Let women speak” to criticize the entry into force of the law facilitating gender change, on November 1, 2024 in Berlin © AFP – John MACDOUGALL

The Constitutional Court had already partially abolished this text and made it possible to repeal in the 2010s the obligation of sterilization and surgical intervention before a gender change.

“After more than 40 years, the so-called transsexual law, synonymous with degrading expertise and violations of fundamental rights, has been abolished,” said the federal association for the defense of the rights of transgender people (BVT).

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The new text also clarifies the case of minors. For those under 14, only parents or guardians will be able to initiate proceedings. Minors over 14 will be able to do so themselves, but only with the consent of their parents.

They will have to submit a declaration indicating that they have sought the advice of a psychologist or a youth protection service. No further changes will be allowed for a year.

– “Ideological project” –

A poll published Thursday by the YouGov institute shows the acceptance of the new legislation in the country: 47% of those questioned say they are completely or rather in favor of it, against 37% who reject it.

Dorothee Bär, a member of the Bavarian conservative CSU party, accused the government, a coalition between Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP, on Wednesday of having produced a “scandalous ideological project” that is too permissive.

Demonstration organized by the feminist association “Let Women Speak” to criticize the entry into force of the law facilitating gender reassignment, on November 1, 2024 in Berlin © AFP – John MACDOUGALL

Women's rights organizations also fear that predatory men will abuse the new rules to access spaces reserved for women and girls, such as changing rooms or saunas.

In addition, the law “affects young people, especially girls, who have difficulty becoming women in adolescence, and who suddenly think they are going to become transgender,” says Marina Piestert, spokesperson for the association “Let Women Speak”.

She took part in a demonstration of around a hundred people in the centre of Berlin on Friday, criticising the new law.

“It's a very widespread fear,” Nyke Slawik emphasises, but which is not justified, according to her, in light of the new law.

On the one hand, the establishments concerned will continue to establish their own rules of access in this area. Which transgender associations consider discriminatory.

Furthermore, the application of similar laws in other countries “has not caused an increase in attacks against women,” she adds, deploring a propensity of conservatives to “create a climate of fear and prejudice against minorities in order to profit from it” at the political level.

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