Transgender rights in Germany

{{More citations needed section|date=May 2018}}

{{Main articles|Transsexuals Act (Germany)}}

In 1980, West Germany passed a law regulating the change of first names and legal gender, the {{lang|de|Gesetz über die Änderung der Vornamen und die Feststellung der Geschlechtszugehörigkeit in besonderen Fällen}} (Law concerning the change of first name and determination of gender identity in special cases), also known as the {{lang|de|Transsexuellengesetz}} (Transsexuals Act – TSG). Since 1990, following the reunification of East and West Germany, it used to apply to all of Germany.

To change either name or gender, two independent medical court experts had to be commissioned by the judge. They were asked to evaluate, whether

• the person "does not identify with the birth-assigned sex/gender,The German word {{lang|de|Geschlecht}} (the teminology used in the law) can be translated as either "sex" or "gender". but with the other one",{{Cite web |title=Bundesverfassungsgericht - Presse - Voraussetzungen für die rechtliche Anerkennung von Transsexuellen nach § 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 und 4 Transsexuellengesetz verfassungswidrig |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2011/bvg11-007.html |access-date=2019-02-06 |website=www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de |language=de}} and
• "feels a compulsion to live according to his/her ideas for at least three years", and
• it is to be assumed with high probability, that the feeling of belonging to the other sex/gender is not going to change".{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

One could have either obtained a change of name alone, and proceed later with a change of legal gender, if possible or desired, or obtained both in a single legal procedure.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

The name change became legally void if a child of the trans person is born more than 300 days after the name change.{{cite web|title=BGBl. I S. 1654|url=http://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl180s1654.pdf#__bgbl__%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27I_2015_17_inhaltsverz%27%5D__1431881622971|publisher=Bundesansieger Verlag|access-date=17 May 2015 |language=de}}

Several court decisions had further specified several matters. For example, a person with only a name change had the right to be called "Herr" or "Frau" (Mr. or Ms.) according to their first name, not their legal gender; similarly, documents had to be issued reflecting their actual gender identity, not legal gender. Job references, certifications and similar from the time before the change of name may have been reissued with the new name, so effectively there was no way for a new employer to learn about the change of name and/or legal gender. Also, people with only a name change did not have to divulge their legal gender to employers.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

A name change was registered as previous last names in the resident registration (German "Melderegister").{{Cite web |title=§ 3 BMG - Einzelnorm |url=https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__3.html |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=www.gesetze-im-internet.de |language=de}} It was also registered in the Federal Central Tax Office as previous last names with the Tax Identification Number.{{Cite web |title=BZSt - tax identification number |url=https://www.bzst.de/EN/Private_individuals/Tax_identification_number/tax_identification_number_node.html#js-toc-entry1 |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=www.bzst.de}} The previous gender could have been seen via the previous last names.

To change legal gender before 1980, it used to be required that the person:

• was permanently infertile, and
• has had surgery through which their outer sexual characteristics are changed to a "significant approximation" to the appearance of their preferred biological sex.{{Cite web |url=http://tgeu.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Germany-Engl-Press-Release-Court-on-Sterilisation-requirement-1-BVR-3295-7.pdf |title=Prerequisites for the statutory recognition of transsexuals according to § 8.1 nos. 3 and 4 of the Transsexuals Act are unconstitutional |access-date=2017-03-26 |archive-date=2015-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815023319/http://tgeu.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Germany-Engl-Press-Release-Court-on-Sterilisation-requirement-1-BVR-3295-7.pdf |url-status=dead }}

The administrative procedure for changing the legal gender under the TSG was lengthy and costly, requiring several assessments. According to a government study, the average cost for the assessments was 1,660 euros, with an additional 206 euros spent on court fees, on average.{{Cite web |date=19 July 2017 |title=Gutachten: Regelungs- und Reformbedarf für transgeschlechtliche... |url=https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/service/publikationen/gutachten-regelungs-und-reformbedarf-fuer-transgeschlechtliche-menschen-114070 |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=BMFSFJ |page=195 |language=de}} According to the LGBT rights association LSVD, some medical professionals that conducted the assessments also asked invasive questions about intimate details such as sexual fantasies, their underwear, masturbatory behaviour and other sexual practices.{{Cite web |title=Das Selbstbestimmungsgesetz: Antworten zur Abschaffung des Transsexuellengesetz (TSG) |url=https://www.lsvd.de/de/ct/6417-Selbstbestimmungsgesetz |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=www.lsvd.de |language=de}} This contrasted with a comparatively easier process for intersex people under § 45b PStG.

During its lifetime, the TSG had been found unconstitutional on a variety of grounds by the Federal Constitutional Court since its inception. In 1982, the requirement that a candidate be 25 years of age was found in violation of the equality clause of the German Constitution (Art. 3).{{Citation |title=BVerfG, 16.03.1982 - 1 BvR 938/81 |date=1982-03-16 |url=https://dejure.org/dienste/vernetzung/rechtsprechung?Gericht=BVerfG&Datum=16.03.1982&Aktenzeichen=1%20BvR%20938/81 |issue=1 BvR 938/81 |access-date=2023-01-09}} In 2006, the court ordered lawmakers to amend the law so that the TSG would apply for non-Germans who have legal residency status in Germany, as long as their country of citizenship does not have equivalent laws.{{Cite web |last=Bundesverfassungsgericht |first=1 Senat |date=2006-07-18 |title=Bundesverfassungsgericht - Entscheidungen - Ausschluss transsexueller Ausländer von der nach dem TSG eröffneten Möglichkeit, ihren Vornamen zu ändern oder die geänderte Geschlechtszugehörigkeit feststellen zu lassen, ist mit GG Art 3 Abs 1 iVm dem Grundrecht auf Schutz der Persönlichkeit nicht vereinbar, sofern deren Heimatrecht vergleichbare Regelungen nicht kennt |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Entscheidungen/DE/2006/07/ls20060718_1bvl000104.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de |language=de}} In 2008, the court declared that the requirement that a candidate be unmarried was unconstitutional.{{Cite web |title=Bundesverfassungsgericht - Presse - § 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 Transsexuellengesetz verfassungswidrig |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2008/bvg08-077.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de |language=de}} In January 2011, the court declared the criteria for gender change requiring gender-affirming surgery and sterilization or infertility unconstitutional.{{cite web |date=28 January 2011 |title=– German Constitutional Court declares compulsory surgeries unconstitutional |url=http://tgeu.org/german-constitutional-court-declares-compulsory-surgeries-unconstitutional/ |access-date=26 March 2017 |publisher=tgeu.org |archive-date=17 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717154246/https://tgeu.org/german-constitutional-court-declares-compulsory-surgeries-unconstitutional/ |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|Self-Determination Act (Germany)}}

Germany's 2021-2025 ruling coalition committed to removing the TSG (and para. 45b {{Lang|de|Personenstandsgesetz}}, PStG) and replacing it with self-identification. For this purpose, it drafted the {{Lang|de|Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag}} (Law on self-determination with regard to gender entry, SBGG), unofficially known as the {{lang|de|Selbstbestimmungsgesetz}} (Self-Determination Act), publishing a ministry-level draft (a so-called {{Lang|De|Referentenentwurf}}) in May 2023.

The law was voted upon in the Bundestag on 12 April 2024. It was adopted with 372 votes in favour, 251 against, 11 abstentions and 100 absent.{{cite web | url=https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2024/kw15-de-geschlechtseintrag-997406 | title=Deutscher Bundestag - Änderungen beim Geschlechtseintrag werden einfacher |language=de}} On 17 May 2024 the Bundesrat voted against raising objections to the law, thereby passing it in practice, and finishing the legislative process.{{cite web | url=https://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/beratungsvorgaenge/2024/0101-0200/0195-24.html| title=Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag und zur Änderung weiterer Vorschriften |language=de}} The law went into effect on 1 February 2024.{{cite web |url=https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/service/gesetze/gesetz-ueber-die-selbstbestimmung-in-bezug-auf-den-geschlechtseintrag-sbgg--224546 |title=Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag (SBGG) |access-date=27 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215020646/https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/service/gesetze/gesetz-ueber-die-selbstbestimmung-in-bezug-auf-den-geschlechtseintrag-sbgg--224546 |archive-date=15 February 2025 |url-status=live |language=de}}

The {{lang|de|Selbstbestimmungsgesetz}} sets out the following:

• Self-ID for adults to change the gender entry and first name(s) in the civil registry.
• The same for 14 to 17 year-olds with the consent of their parents or guardians.
• If the parents or guardians do not consent, a Family court can replace the decision of the parents or guardians.
• For children under 14, a change can be done via a declaration of the parents or guardians (the child must be present during the declaration).{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/selbstbestimmungsgesetz-2215426 |title=Selbst über das eigene Geschlecht bestimmen |date=1 November 2024 |access-date=3 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214232421/https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/selbstbestimmungsgesetz-2215426 |archive-date=14 February 2025 |url-status=live |language=de}}
• Changes are done by the civil registration office Standesamt (previously Amtsgericht).
• Ahead of a change, a person must register three months beforehand ({{Lang|de|Karenzzeit}}).
• After a change, the gender and name cannot be changed for 1 year.

Queer associations criticised the draft for the 3-month waiting period, which did not previously exist in TSG and para. 45b PStG.{{Cite news |title="Man fühlt sich erschlagen von dem ganzen Misstrauen": Entwurf zum Selbstbestimmungsgesetz löst Kontroverse aus |language=de-DE |work=Der Tagesspiegel Online |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/queerspiegel/man-fuhlt-sich-erschlagen-von-dem-ganzen-misstrauen-entwurf-zum-selbstbestimmungsgesetz-lost-kontroverse-aus-9736802.html |access-date=2023-05-31 |issn=1865-2263}} Furthermore, trans people with legal guardians (due to impairments or disabilities) would not get self-ID under the draft. Legal guardians should be there to protect vulnerable people from things like giving away their possessions, but not to prevent them from coming out as trans, the association Queer Handicap argued.{{Cite web |last=Bellm |first=Nicolas |date=27 May 2023 |title=Wir fordern echte Selbstbestimmung statt neuer Hürden! |url=https://www.queerhandicap.de/statement-zum-selbstbestimmungsgesetz/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531091504/https://www.queerhandicap.de/statement-zum-selbstbestimmungsgesetz/ |archive-date=31 May 2023 |access-date=8 March 2025 |website=queerhandicap |language=de-DE |url-status=live}}

The use of puberty blockers in youth experiencing gender dysphoria has been endorsed by numerous organizations:

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• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie|de}} (German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy) (DGKJP)
• {{Interlanguage link|Akademie für Ethik in der Medizin|de}} (Academy for Ethics in Medicine) (AEM)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Ärztliche Gesellschaft für Verhaltenstherapie|de}} (German Medical Society for Behavioral Therapy) (DÄVT)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Endokrinologie|de}} (German Society for Endocrinology) (DGE)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe|de}} (German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics) (DGGG)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin|de}} (German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine) (DGKJ)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für pädiatrische und adoleszente Endokrinologie und Diabetologie|de}} (German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology and Diabetology) (DGPAED)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizinische Psychologie|de}} (German Society for Medical Psychology) (DGMP)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Nervenheilkunde|de}} (German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology) (DGPPN)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychoanalyse, Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Tiefenpsychologie|de}} (German Society for Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Depth Psychology) (DGPT)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sexualforschung|de}} (German Society for Sex Research) (DGfS)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsches Kollegium für Psychosomatische Medizin|de}} (German College for Psychosomatic Medicine) (DKPM)
• Bundesverband für Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapie e.V. (Federal Association for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy) (bkj)
• {{Interlanguage link|Berufsverband Deutscher Psychologinnen und Psychologen|de}} (Professional Association of German Psychologists) (BDP)
• Berufsverband für Kinder und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (Professional Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy) (BKJPP)
• Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Leitenden Klinikärzte für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, -psychosomatik und -psychotherapie (Federal Association of Senior Clinicians for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy) (BAG)
• {{Interlanguage link|Bundespsychotherapeutenkammer|de}} (Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists) (BPtK)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Psychoanalytische Gesellschaft|de}} (German Psychoanalytic Society) (DPG)
• {{Interlanguage link|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systemische Therapie, Beratung und Familientherapie|de}} (German Society for Systemic Therapy, Counseling, and Family Therapy) (DGSF)
• Gesellschaft für Sexualwissenschaft (Society for Sexology) (GSW)
• {{Interlanguage link|Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapie Verhaltenstherapie|de}} (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and Behavioral Therapy) (KJPVT)
• {{Interlanguage link|Verband für lesbische, schwule, bisexuelle, trans*, intersexuelle und queere Menschen in der Psychologie|de}} (Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Intersex, and Queer People in Psychology) (VLSP)
• Vereinigung Analytischer Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapeuten in Deutschland (Association of Analytical Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists in Germany) (VAKJP)

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In the past, German law required parents to give their child a gender-specific name.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/07/03/mf.baby.naming.laws/index.html|title=Oh no, you can't name your baby THAT!|access-date=26 July 2015}}Flippo, Hyde "The Germany Way" Published by McGraw-Hill (1996), Pages 96-97 This is no longer true, since the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany held in 2008 that there is no obligation that a name has to be sex-specific, even if it is the only one.[http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rk20081205_1bvr057607.html BVerfG, 1 BvR 576/07 vom 5.12.2008], paragraph 16

In November 2017, the {{lang|de|Bundesverfassungsgericht}} ("Federal Constitutional Court") ruled that civil status law must allow a third gender option.[http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2017/bvg17-095.html Civil Status Law Must Allow a Third Gender Option] This means that birth certificates no longer have blank gender entries for intersex people.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-third-gender-male-female-intersex-court-parliament-bundesverfassungsgericht-berlin-lgbt-a8043261.html Germany officially recognising 'third sex' other than male and female] The Independent, 8 November 2017 The process for intersex people to obtain different gender markers has been regulated in § 45b of the {{lang|de|Personenstandsgesetz}} ("Law of Civil Status").{{cite web|url=https://dejure.org/gesetze/PStG/45b.html|title=§ 45b PStG - Erklärung zur Geschlechtsangabe und... - dejure.org |language=de}}

While the legal gender for trans people can be changed through the {{lang|de|Selbstbestimmungsgesetz}}, they will still be forcibly misgendered as biological parents on their children's birth certificates with a reference to their old gender (e.g. a trans woman as "father"), with no option of a reissued certificate.{{Cite news |title=Transsexuelle darf nicht zweite Mutter ihres Kindes sein |newspaper=Die Zeit |date=4 January 2018 |url=https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/familie/2018-01/bundesgerichtshof-transsexualitaet-elternrolle |language=de}} This has been overruled in other EU countries like France,{{Cite web |title=Trans Frau kann sich in Geburtsurkunde als zweite Mutter eintragen lassen |url=https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=41140 |language=de}} but not so far in Germany, potentially involuntarily outing transgender parents to their children's schools and to other governments when they travel, which according to TGEU is a threat to transgender people's freedom of travel.{{Cite web |date=22 March 2021 |title=New report on trans parenthood and freedom of movement in the EU |url=https://tgeu.org/trans-parenthood-and-freedom-of-movement-in-the-eu/}}

The Equal Treatment Act came into force on 18 August 2006. It bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in employment and the provision of goods and services.{{cite web|url=http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/publikationen/AGG/agg_in_englischer_Sprache.html|title=Antidiskriminierungsstelle - Publikationen - AGG in englischer Sprache|work=antidiskriminierungsstelle.de|access-date=2017-03-26|archive-date=2016-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111030348/http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/publikationen/AGG/agg_in_englischer_Sprache.html|url-status=dead |language=de}}

Hate speeches on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are not banned nationwide in Germany. Some states have laws banning all forms of discrimination in their constitutions (Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Saarland and Thuringia). In those states, hate speech based on both sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited.{{cite web|url=https://rainbow-europe.org/#8635/0/0|publisher=rainbow-europe.org|title=Rainbow Europe: Germany |access-date=26 March 2017}}{{in lang|de}} [http://www.joerg-hutter.de/landesverfassung.htm Diskriminierungsverbot in die Bremische Landesverfassung]

In September 2021, Nyke Slawik and Tessa Ganserer, members of the Green Party, were elected to the Bundestag. They are openly transgender women. Later that year, the government pledged to loosen restrictions on legal name changes and to compensate transgender people who were sterilized against their will.{{Cite news |last=Marzano-Lesnevich |first=Alex |date=2022-03-04 |title=Opinion {{!}} Who Should Be Allowed to Transition? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/opinion/trans-laws-doctors-healthcare.html |access-date=2022-03-04 |issn=0362-4331}}

Michaela Lindner was one of the first out transgender politicians in Germany.

• LGBT rights in Germany
• Legal status of transgender people
• Intersex rights in Germany
• Transvestite certificate (issued to trans and crossdressing people in Weimar Germany by Magnus Hirschfeld, under the aegis of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft){{cite web |last1=Gershon |first1=Livia |title=Gender Identity in Weimar Germany |url=https://daily.jstor.org/gender-identity-in-weimar-germany/ |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=18 November 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Frost |first1=Natasha |title=The Early 20th-Century ID Cards That Kept Trans People Safe From Harassment |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/trans-id-passes-weimar-germany-marcus-hirschfeld |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=2 November 2017}}
• Dora Richter (the first male-to-female trans woman recorded to receive sex reassignment surgery)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Transgender rights In Germany}}