Changing marital status becomes easier in Germany thanks to the entry into force on Friday the 1stAhem November of an emblematic and highly debated law from the Olaf Scholz government, welcomed with relief by the LGBTQIA+ community.
Now a simple declaration in the civil registry is enough: Germany joins the club of countries that have adopted liberal legislation in this area, that is, about ten in Europe, including the Danish precursor, Belgium, Switzerland or even Spain last year .
“I am very happy because it is a historic day for the recognition of sexual diversity and for the recognition of human rights and of transgender and non-binary people in Germany”declared environmentalist Nyke Slawik, a deputy who brought this law to the Bundestag, in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP).
There “law of self-determination” allows people who wish to change their name and gender to submit an application to the local civil status office and then make it official by returning there three months later. These people can choose between four possibilities: feminine, masculine, diverse or “without mention of gender.”
Pre-registration is open from 1Ahem August. According to the magazine The mirrorSome 15,000 people have already applied.
“Degrading experience”
The new text replaces legislation dating from 1981, which provided for a long and expensive procedure that required 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.
The Constitutional Court had already partially abolished this text and allowed the obligation of sterilization and surgical intervention before gender change to be repealed in the 2010s.
“After more than 40 years, the so-called transsexual law, synonymous with degrading expertise and violation of fundamental rights, is repealed”greeted the federal association for the defense of the rights of transgender people (BVT).
The new text also clarifies the case of minors. For minors under 14 years of age, only parents or guardians may initiate the process. Minors over 14 years of age may do so on their own, but only with the consent of their parents. These minors will have to submit a statement indicating that they have sought advice from a psychologist or a youth protection service. No further changes will be allowed for one year.
“Climate of fear and prejudice”
A survey published on Thursday by the YouGov institute demonstrates the acceptance of the new legislation in the country: 47% of respondents declared themselves totally or partially in favor, compared to 37% who rejected it.
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MP Dorothee Bär, a member of the conservative Bavarian CSU party, accused on Wednesday the government, a coalition between Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberals of the FDP, of having drawn up a “scandalous ideological project” and too permissive.
the association “Let the women speak” She opposed this self-determination law, claiming that men will use it to attack women in spaces reserved for them.. The association claims to be as TERF, or trans-exclusive radical feminist (French: “radical feminists who exclude trans people”), a certainly transphobic movement that excludes trans women from feminist struggles. On Friday he participated in a demonstration of about a hundred people in the center of Berlin.
Application of similar laws in other countries. “did not cause an increase in attacks against women”according to Nyke Slawik, who deplores the conservatives’ propensity to “create a climate of fear and prejudice against minorities to take advantage of them” at the political level.
