In June 2020, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the FDP demanded in their draft laws that the existing “transsexual act” should not be reformed, but should be completely repealed and replaced by a “law for self-determination on gender identity”.
The core of the bills of both parties is the "self-declaration" of sex based on the "perceived sex affiliation" ("gender identity"). This means that it should be possible to bring about a change in the registered sex status solely through the act of self-declaration at the registry office, based on the belief in an inherent essence-like "gender identity". This would abolish the legal category of sex being based on the biological characteristics of human beings.
However, the draft laws contain further building blocks. There is to be a ban on disclosing one's actual sex with penalties of up to 2,500 €. Children and adolescents aged 14 and older are to be allowed to take advantage of medical and surgical measures to change their appearance against the will of their parents. And the belief in gender identities is to be further promoted within the framework of state funded "counseling services".
In our view, the existing law, which has allowed a change of personal status based on "gender identity" under certain conditions since 1980, contradicts women's rights and the integrity of women and children already. The implicit assumption that it is possible to be "born in the wrong body" or to have a "gender identity" that is detached from one's body contradicts the body- and reality-based understanding of sex that is the basis for defending the rights of women and girls.
You can read here the public statement of WDI Germany (in German) in the frame of a partially public hearing for this initiative.
Here you can read the statement of the Lesbian Action Center (LAZ reloaded), signatory of the Women's Declaration, on these bills.
The hearing about this self id initiative can be watched here. You also find all the public statements (including ours) on this site of the parliament.
Update May 20, 2021: Yesterday the German parliament rejected the draft legislation for a German Self-ID law. This sent an important signal, also for women in other countries on which such decisions have a spillover effect. You can see the parliamentary debate and the result of the vote here.
Sheila Jeffreys (English, no subtitles) on gender identity legislation and its new initiatives in Germany (October 2020)
Dr. Inge Kleine (in German) on the current gender identity initiatives in the German parliament and our critique on it (September 2020)
On February 23rd, the Greens published a proposal that calls on the government to include the characteristic "sexual identity" in the existing bill against sedition and to implement the "LGBTI strategy 2020-2025" of the European Union into German legislation (19/26886). The first reading took place already one day after this proposal. You can watch it here. You can read here our statement on this proposal which was sent to the committee of inner affairs in the German Bundestag.
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