Concerns over proposed gender classification schemes rise within LGBTQ+ organizations
Queer associations in Germany are expressing alarm over the Federal Ministry of the Interior's proposed plan to require individuals who change their gender entry and first name in the civil registry to fill out three new data sheets about their previous gender entry.
The queer commissioner of the Berlin Senate, Alfonso Pantisano, published a guest article on the portal "Queer" expressing his concerns. The German Society for Trans and Intersex (dgti) shares these worries, viewing this as a significant invasion of privacy and a contradiction to the Self-Determination Act.
The proposed regulation could infringe on the privacy of transgender, intersex, and non-binary individuals by unnecessarily revealing sensitive personal history. This could expose people to discrimination and stigmatization when interacting with authorities or third parties.
The requirement to disclose former gender markers may also increase discriminatory treatment and bureaucratic hurdles for trans and non-binary people. For those who have legally changed their gender, having previous gender data repeatedly documented undermines the principle of self-determination and legal recognition achieved by a gender change.
The dgti argues that given the increasing numbers of hate crimes, it is urgently necessary to protect and not expose the gender and sexual identity in the Basic Law through additional markings. The organisation questions the necessity of separately informing authorities such as the pension insurance about a change of civil status, as insured persons themselves inform the pension insurance about changes.
Alfonso Pantisano views the plans as an attack on freedom, arguing that systematically recording people who have emancipated themselves could turn self-determination into a risk index and state care into state mistrust. The Queer Diversity Association and the dgti continue to consider additional requirements unnecessary.
The Ministry of the Interior defends its plans, stating that the regulation is necessary for maintaining the traceability of individuals who have changed their gender entry and first name in official registers and information systems. However, the Queer Diversity Association and the dgti express concern that the recording, transmission, and disclosure of sensitive information about previous gender entries and first names could lead to state persecution.
As the Self-Determination Act is set to come into force on November 1, 2021, making it easier to change gender entry and first name at the registry office, these concerns are gaining traction. The associations are urging the Ministry to reconsider its plans, arguing that they risk increasing discrimination and privacy violations for trans, intersex, and non-binary people in Germany.
[1] Source: Queer Diversity Association and German Society for Trans and Intersex (dgti) community advocacy groups.
- The proposed regulation in the Federal Ministry of the Interior's plan could potentially compromise the health-and-wellness and mental-health of transgender, intersex, and non-binary individuals by exposing them to discrimination, stigmatization, and potential state persecution.
- The increased requirement to disclose former gender markers could breach the privacy of these individuals and undermine the principles of self-determination and legal recognition they have worked hard to achieve, thereby affecting their overall health-and-wellness and mental-health.
