My speech on German Self-ID law at feminist question time (WDI)

The "Selbstbestimmungsgesetz" is one of the worst SelfID laws up to date

The German Self-Determination Act

Prehistory:
The German Transsexuals Act

After Sweden, Germany was one of the first countries in Europe to enable the legal fiction of sex change through a transsexual law in 1981.

The decisive factor was a judgement by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1978, which ordered the legislature to create a regulation on the basis of human dignity and the fundamental right to free development of the personality. A grown up man who had crushed one of his testicles and afterwards had his genitals surgically removed came to believe he was a woman from birth on and had taken his case to the Constitutional Court. The court decided that he was allowed to falsify his sex entry in the birth register and register a female name.  

Since 1st January 1981, the transsexuals act came into law. Since then men and women in Germany have been able to apply for a change of name via the minor solution. With the major solution the civil status and the sex entry in the birth register is also changed.

Even at the time, this law was controversial, as the CDU in particular foresaw that this legal fiction would cause many problems. As today, however, the FDP (Liberals) and the SPD (social democrats) in particular praised it as the most progressive law in Europe and even then had plans to extend this legislation to the EU.

Women's rights, which are enshrined in Article 3 of the German constitution and are in conflict with the transsexual law, were ignored. The argument was always, that it is such a tiny minoriy.

The prerequisites for the great solution were initially

1. to no longer feel they belong to the birth entry and to have been under compulsion to live according to their ideas for at least 3 years

2. there is a high probability that the feeling of belonging to the opposite sex will no longer change

3. at least 25 years old

4. permanently unable to reproduce, sterilization

5. undergoing a surgical procedure that changes the external sexual characteristics and a clear approximation to the appearance of the opposite sex has been achieved.

6. divorce

Through several court cases, the Transsexuals Act has been softened to the extent that

1. the age limit of 25 years for the change of first name (small solution) no longer applies

2. sterilisation is no longer required

3. gender reassignment treatment is no longer required

4. divorce is no longer necessary to change the sex entry

The following conditions remained:

1. two independent expert opinions had to establish that

   1. The person feels that they belong to the opposite sex

   2. Has been under pressure to live in accordance with these ideas for at least 3 years

   3. There is a high probability that their sense of belonging to the opposite sex will no longer change

2. confirmation by a local court

3. the person had to pay for the expert opinion and the court proceedings themselves. Costs approx. 2500 EUR. Legal costs could be covered by legal aid

4. Since 2017 Germany also has a third sex entry “diverse” for people with an intersex condition. It protects the gender identity of persons who feel that they neither belong to the male or female sex.

5. Since 2020, this entry has even been possible for people with an alleged "non-binary gender identity" via the TSG after an assessment.

Trans activists have labelled all these assessments as unreasonable, agonising and humiliating and claim that they are unconstitutional. However, this is not true, as the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in a 2017 decision that an assessment is still reasonable and the claim to change the sex entry was rarely rejected.

The German TSG was therefore already very liberal.

The self-determination law

Since 2014, trans acitivists lobbyied German politics especially in the family and women’s ministry. In 2017 the Greens delivered a first draft of a SelfID law. In 2020 the FDP and the Greens delivered two separate drafts to push through a self-determination law based on the Yogyakarta Principles in Germany. In 2021, an initial bill was rejected in parliament by the grand coalition of CDU and SPD at the time.

In autumn 2021 the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP promised in their coalition agreement that they would implement a self-determination law. The first queer commissioner of Germany Sven Lehmann promised from the outset that it would be passed very quickly.

However, with combined forces and many actions, protests, letters to politicians and raising awareness among the public and the press, we were able to delay it until April.

The actual passing of the law at was announced at very short notice and just a few days before the deadline at 12^th April 2024. It was scheduled for a Friday lunchtime, when the Bundestag is usually particularly empty. 374 votes in favour, 251 against, 11 abstentions. Only a lead of 10 votes

One of the most permissive and dangerous SelfID laws in Europe

The German self-determination law is one of the most permissive and dangerous self-ID laws in Europe. As Germany serves as a role model for other EU states, it is to be feared that other EU states will also be pressured to follow the German example. Austria has already shown corresponding endeavours.

Any protection against abuse has been removed from the law that was passed. For example, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Ministry of the Interior had enforced that an official check of the person should take place when a change of sex entry is requested.

A petition was then launched, which was signed by many well-known female authors, influencers, queer ideologues and women’s organisations in Germany. They called for “distrust” and “discrimination” to be removed from the law and for genuine self-determination to be made possible – including for minors. Afterwards they deleted the official check of a person.

The Self-Determination Act in detail

1. Any man can declare himself a woman and change his first name by making a simple declaration at the registry office without any checks.

2. The change of sex entry does not have to be permanent, but may be changed once a year.

3. Different entries are possible at choice: male, female, diverse, no entry. These are used for:

   1. People who want to change a sex entry from female to male or male to female

   2. People who want a "diverse" sex entry (people with variants of sex development AKA "intersex" or "nonbinary") - without presenting any certificates

   3. People who do not want a sex entry ("nonbinary")

   
   However, none of the four parties will undergo any kind of verification in the form of an expert opinion.

4. If a person's gender entry and first names have been changed in the civil status register, they may request that entries relating to their gender and first names be changed in official registers.

5. The fantasy gender identity "nonbinary" is thus declared a legal fact in the Self-Determination Act.

6. Parents can determine the gender entry of their children themselves from babyhood. From the age of 5, children should declare to the registrar that they agree to the change of sex entry. They are thus declared capable of giving consent from the age of 5.

7. From the age of 14, adolescents may decide on their own sex entry. However, parental consent is required. If the parents do not agree, a family court can be called in to override the parents' veto. For separated parents, there is a risk that the parent who refuses to change the sex entry will lose custody.

8. The minor must declare that they have received counselling but they don’t have to prove it.

9. In the case of minors, the sex entry may be changed at any time.

10. A prohibition on disclosure prohibits the naming of a person's sex and former name. This prohibition now also applies to family members in the adopted law. The intention is decisive here. Anyone who does not name the sex and former name with the intention of causing offence and in a friendly manner is to remain unpunished. Anyone who violates the ban on disclosure will face a fine of up to EUR 10,000.

11. Quotas for women are cancelled. Gender identity, not sex, is decisive for women's quotas now.

12. In the event of war, men may not declare themselves to be women and will be drafted as men.

13. On the birth certificate of newborns, the gender entry of the parents at the time of birth is taken into account - not the sex. Instead of father or mother, the neutral formulation "parent" can be entered here.

14. In the case of legally incompetent persons, e.g. mentally disabled adults, the carers decide on the gender entry. However, a local court is also involved here

15. Sex-based women's rooms, women's shelters, women's prisons and women's sports should only be able to be maintained in individual cases via domestic and owners law and the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG).

Some possible consequences of this irresponsible legislation

1. Arbitrary changes to the sex-entry of babies and young children by their parents or guardians will make it easier to conceal the identity of these children. This can be used for child abuse and child trafficking

2. Parents could use the loophole of changing the sex-entry of their children at will to carry out female genital mutilation (FGM) on baby girls for religious reasons. This is because the circumcision of boys is permitted in Germany for religious reasons.

3. Babies and small children are no longer protected from the fictional worldviews of their parents and guardians.

4. The draft does not contain any regulations on sex reassignment surgery, but lays the foundations. Giving even small children the idea that they can change their sex paves the way for physically invasive measures.

5. By defining "non-binary" as a gender identity, this target group will presumably be prepared for elective surgery and hormone administration, as health insurance companies have so far not paid for mastectomies, for example, for women who declare themselves to be "non-binary".

6. Adults who are legally incompetent - for example mentally disabled people - are also at the mercy of their carers' ideas about their "gender identity". The local court offers only minimal protection here.

7. As the parents' entry in the birth certificate of newborn children can be falsified, the right of these children to know their own parentage is violated. In addition, the prohibition of disclosure makes them liable to prosecution if they refer to their father as their father.

8. Quotas for women are a thing of the past in Germany. This also means that the function of an equal opportunities officer, previously reserved for women, who are supposed to ensure the implementation of Chapter 3 of the German Basic Law - equal rights for women - is no longer necessary.

9. Women's prisons have been de facto abolished in Germany. Since a women's prison can only refuse a man who identifies as a woman on grounds of discrimination in individual cases, a man can be transferred to a women's prison at his request. This is already happening. Experimental hormone treatments and plastic surgery for these offenders in prison are already financed by the general public. At the end of his sentence, the man can change his gender entry back to "man". This is already happening in Germany.

10. In women's sport, too, the decision as to whether a man may participate in a women's team is deferred to the club. If the club refuses, the man could sue his way onto the team via the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). The prohibition of disclosure creates an additional hurdle in these conflicts, as a man may not be addressed as a man.

11. Since women are liable to prosecution if they name the sex of a man who has changed his sex entry, they can no longer defend themselves against the presence of a man in previously sex-specific spaces. No woman knows whether a man has changed his sex entry. A man can therefore simply walk into these rooms and claim this. After all, he no longer has to make any changes to his external appearance. This creates a chilling effect for girls and women. Previous safe spaces become spaces of fear.

12. The legislator knows who a man is in the event of war. However, it gives men 2 months to change their gender entry before a possible armed conflict.

13. A man with dual nationality can be registered as a man in Spain and as a woman in Germany.

14. There are no rules for sex-based statistics, e.g. violence and crime statistics. It is therefore to be expected that these statistics will no longer be meaningful in the future and, above all, will conceal the predominantly male perpetrators.

15. Since there is no longer any verification before a change of civil status, offenders can use this law to change their identity at will.

The law is set to come into forth on 1^st November 2024. A change of sex-entry can already be requested on 1st August 2024.

The law will go through the federal council again on 17th May, but does not require approval.

The Committee on Internal Affairs has submitted a request to convene a mediation committee to resume the regulation according to which registration authorities had to inform the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Federal Police, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and various other federal authorities about the change of a gender entry of a person before the change of sex-entry and change of first name. They speak of a considerable threat to internal security if the law is passed in this form. The Family and Youth Committee and the Legal Affairs Committee still do not see any problems. The issue of security for women and children is not being taken seriously – despite warnings from many quarters. If the request to convenue a mediation committee is successful the law has go back to Bundestag. But we don’t expect that as the leading committee is the family and yout committee.

As the law is unconstitutional in several points – for example regarding women’s rights for equality or regarding freedom of expression, freedom of the press and academic freedom or regarding several children’s and parent’s rights – we try to convince the CDU or the Bavarian government to file an abstract action for judicial review. We also try to convince the President of Germany to not sign the law. If the law comes into force we are considering a constitutional complaint.

The Transgender activists of Germany also consider a constitutional complaint as the self determination in their eyes goes not far enough. They want to delete the domestic authority for women’s shelters, women’s saunas or women’s sports. They claim to be discriminated on the basis of the General Equal Treatment Act. They also want to lower the age of consent for minors and abolish the consent of parents.

The only positive aspect is that with the Self Determination law the German Transsexual’s Act has been abolished. If we are successful in having the Self-Determination Act declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court, both the Transsexuals Act and the Self-Determination Act could become a thing of the past.

Accompanying measures: S2K guideline, law to protect against conversion treatments

The German Self-Determination Act is flanked by other political plans or laws that have already been passed and are to be tightened.

1. The S2K guideline on the treatment of minors with gender dysphoria

2. The law to protect against conversion treatments

3. Legalisation of egg donation and surrogacy in Germany

The S2K guideline

A new medical guideline on the treatment of minors with "gender dysphoria" was developed under the umbrella of the Association of Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF).

The guideline was initially intended to be an evidence-based S3 guideline, but was downgraded to S2K shortly before it was adopted. This means that it is only consensus-based. The guideline is intended to apply to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The guideline is largely based on the controversial SOC8 guideline of the WPATH and was presented to the public AFTER the publication of the WPATHfiles. The findings of the Cass Review are also still not taken into account.

A few points:

• The guideline contains no age limits

• According to the guideline, minors are capable of giving informed consent to non-evidence-based treatment with puberty blockers and experimental plastic surgery on the primary and secondary sexual characteristics

• If they are not able to give consent, the ability to give consent should be worked out

• Parents should be persuaded to consent if their child is seeking treatment. If they stubbornly refuse to consent, the guideline considers reporting the child to the police for endangering the child's welfare. Adolescents should receive psychotherapeutic support to help them detach from their parents.

• Psychotherapy is not envisaged, as gender dysphoria is not seen as a symptom of a mental illness.

• Autism, depression, ADHD or mental illnesses are not seen as the cause of gender dysphoria, but as illnesses or accompanying symptoms that occur independently of it. Even mentally ill people should not be denied a desired gender reassignment.

• Puberty blockers are described by the medical ethicist involved as a blessing of medicine. The medical ethicist recognises that treating doctors have a right to make mistakes.

• The working group that drew up the guideline consisted mainly of activist therapists and doctors whose careers depended largely on the relaxation of treatment guidelines. Trans activists and trans activist parent organisations were also represented in the working group. The critical perspective was consistently neglected.

Currently, a group of 15 adolescent psychiatrists from university clinics have spoken out - partly on the initiative of Austrian and Swiss feminists. The 15 experts have published a 111-page statement. In it, they call for a revision of the guideline by the German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (DGKJP). The guideline was actually only released for editorial improvement. The psychiatrists did not adhere to this.

Law to protect against conversion treatments

Germany has had a law to protect against conversion treatments since 2020. On the initiative of translobby associations, a passage has been written into this law that also protects the fiction of a "gender identity".

"Conversion treatment does not apply to surgical medical interventions or hormone treatments that are aimed at expressing a person's self-perceived gender identity or to fulfil a person's desire for a more masculine or more feminine physical appearance."

Psychotherapists and doctors are potentially liable to prosecution if they do not unapologetically affirm the idea of gender identity in minors and work with the underage patient on body and self-acceptance.

The German translobby associations are currently working on tightening the law and also making parents liable to prosecution if they want to protect their children from the fiction of a possible gender change and the urge to take body-damaging measures. To this end, they are using two studies that allegedly prove the widespread use of conversion treatments in Germany. I am currently trying to get the studies published. They are nowhere to be found. I suspect that they can be methodically refuted.

Legalisation of surrogacy and egg donation

In Germany, surrogacy and egg donation are illegal. There are currently endeavours to at least allow altruistic egg donation. This industry is closely linked to transgender clinics in Germany. Until recently, for example, the Centre for Transgender Health in Münster talked on its website about the possibility of harvesting egg tissue from girls when they start taking puberty blockers and testosterone. The clinic is thus aware that minors are sterilised by these treatments. Despite the ban, baby buying fairs have been taking place in Germany for several years now, including Men having Babies for men who want to buy babies.

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