For minors over 14 years old, they will need the consent of their parents or legal representatives. In the case of children under 14 years old, parents must submit the necessary declaration to the civil registry.
“As populist politicians in Europe and beyond attempt to use trans rights as a political issue, Germany’s new law sends a strong message that trans people exist and deserve to be recognized and protected, without discrimination “, Cristian González Cabrera, senior researcher on LGBT rights at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
Some critics call the new law misogynistic, with MP Sahra Wagenknecht saying: “If men can declare themselves women with a simple act of speech, women’s rights and safe spaces for women will soon be a thing of the past.” »
She added: “Instead of carefully reforming the legal situation, which would have been logical, the traffic light (a nickname of the German coalition government) adopts a misogynistic law that turns parents and children into guinea pigs for an ideology of which only pharmaceutical industry benefits.”
Under the current transgender law, which dates back to 1980, medical reports are a prerequisite for changing a person’s sex and a court must give approval.
Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay have removed burdensome legal gender recognition requirements in recent years, according to Human Rights Watch. These countries now provide simple administrative and legal processes for gender recognition, based on self-declaration.
The new German law will come into force from November. Approval from the Bundesrat, the upper house of Parliament, is not required.
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