Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Germany have evolved significantly over the last few decades. During the 1920s and early 1930s, LGBT people in Berlin were generally tolerated by the public and many bars and special clubs relating to gay men were opened. Although same-sex sexual activity among men was made illegal under Paragraph 175 by the German Empire in 1871, Nazi Germany extended this law during World War II, resulting in the persecution and death of thousands of homosexuals. The Nazi extension was repealed in 1950 and same-sex sexual activity between men was decriminalized in East and West Germany in 1968 and 1969, respectively. The age of consent was equated in Germany united in 1994.
Same-sex marriage has been valid since October 1, 2017, after the Bundestag passed a law providing the same pair of marriage couples and adoption rights on June 30, 2017. Prior to that, a registered partnership was available to same-sex couples, which had been legalized in 2001. Partnership This gives most though not all the same rights as marriage, and they are no longer available after the introduction of same-sex marriage. The adoption of a first-sex stepchild became legal in 2005 and expanded in 2013 to enable a person in same-sex relationships to adopt a child who has been adopted by his partner. Protection of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity varies across Germany, but discrimination in employment and the supply of goods and services is essentially banned across the country. Transgender people have been allowed to change their legal sex since 1980. The law initially requires them to undergo their genital change operations in order for key identity documents to be changed. This has since been declared unconstitutional.
Although two of the three main political parties in the German Government are socially conservative on LGBT rights issues, Germany has often been seen as one of the most gay friendly countries in the world. A recent poll indicates that the majority of Germans favor same-sex marriage. Another poll in 2013 showed that 87% of Germans see that homosexuality should be accepted by society, which is the second highest in the world (only 39 countries surveyed) following Spain (88%). Berlin has been referred to by publication as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world. Former Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit is one of the most famous gay men in Germany, alongside former Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guido Westerwelle, former Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks and comedians Hape Kerkeling, Hella von Sinnen and Lutz van der Horst. Founded in 1981, Akademie WaldschlÃÆ'¶sschen, an adult education conference center near GÃÆ'¶ttingen, has evolved into a national network center for LGBTI teachers, lawyers, pastors, gay fathers and gay and lesbian student groups at German universities, much in collaboration with TransAktiv and Intersexuelle Menschen eV.
Video LGBT rights in Germany
Legal history of same-sex sexual activity
Homosexuality could be executed in the Holy Roman Empire from 1532 until its dissolution and in Prussia from 1620 to 1794. The influence of the Napoleonic Code in the early 1800s triggered decriminalization in most of Germany outside of Prussia. However, in 1871, the year of the federal German Empire was formed, Paragraph 175 of the new Criminal Code committed acts of homosexuals that were criminalized. The law was extended under Nazi rule, and confidence multiplied by a factor of ten to about 8,000 per year. The punishment is severe, and 5,000 - 15,000 suspected arrests are held in concentration camps, where most of them die.
The Nazi addition was lifted in East Germany in 1950, but homosexual relations between men remained a crime until 1968. West Germany retained a more repressive version of the law, legalizing male homosexual activity one year after East Germany, in 1969. Agreement age equalized in East Germany through a court ruling in 1987, with West Germany following in 1989; now 14 years (16/18 in some circumstances) for the activities of women-male, male and female-male. Progres_in_East_Germany_ (1949-1990) "> Progression in East Germany (1949-1990)
East Germany inherited Paragraph 175. The Communist gay activist Rudolf Klimmer, modeling himself on Magnus Hirschfeld and the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, campaigned to revoke the law, but to no avail. However, the law was returned to a version found in the 1925 Criminal Code, which is much lighter than the version adopted in 1935 under Nazi rule.
Within five years after the 1953 Uprising in East Germany, the GDR Government instituted a program of "moral reform" to build a solid foundation for a new socialist republic, where masculinity and traditional families were championed while homosexuality, seen to be contradictory. "the healthy customs of the working people", continues to be prosecuted under Paragraph 175. The same sex activity "is alternatively viewed as the rest of bourgeois decadence, a sign of moral weakness, and a threat to the social and political health of the nation" [1]
In East Germany, Paragraph 175 ceased to apply in 1957 but remained in the book until 1968. Officially homosexuality was decriminalized in East Germany in 1968.
According to the historian Heidi Minning, attempts by lesbians and gays in East Germany to form a community that looks "thwarted at every turn by the GDR Government and the SED party". [2] He writes:
Police are used on various occasions to break down or prevent gay and public gay events. Centralized censorship prevents the presentation of homosexuality in print and electronic media, as well as the import of such materials.
The Protestant Church provides more support than the state, allowing meeting rooms and printing facilities.
Toward the end of the 1980s, just before the collapse of the iron curtain, the Government of East Germany opened a state-owned gay disco in Berlin. On August 11, 1987, the Supreme Court of East Germany affirmed that "homosexuality, just like heterosexuality, represents a variant of sexual behavior." Homosexuals therefore do not stand outside of socialist society, and civil rights are guaranteed to them just like all other citizens.
In 1989, the German film titled "Coming Out" directed by Heiner Carow was exhibited on the night when the Berlin Wall collapsed, and told of an East German man who came to accept his own homosexuality, with most being shot at a local gay bar. This is the only East German gay rights film.
Juken Lemke (often spelled "Jurgen Lemke" in the English-speaking world) is considered one of the most prominent East German gay rights activists and has published a book on the subject (< English edition published in 1991). Lemke supports the belief that gay communities are much more united in the GDR than in the West.
West Germany (1949-1990)
West Germany inherited Paragraph 175, which remained in the book until 1969. However, as opposed to East Germany, the influence of churches in West Germany was very strong. Fundamentalist Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church strongly opposed LGBT rights legislation.
As a result of this strong conservative social influence, the German Christian Democratic Union, the dominant political force in postwar West Germany, tends to ignore or challenge most gay rights issues. While their frequent coalition partners, the Free Democratic Party tends to have a stronger belief in civil liberties, they, as smaller parties, are less likely to alienate more social conservative elements in the larger Christian Democratic Union.
During the Cold War era, support for gay rights in Germany was generally limited to the Free Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and, later in the 1980s, the Green Party. At the national level, progress in gay rights did not begin until the end of the Cold War and the election success of the Social Democratic Party. For example, in 1990, the law was amended so that in the Bundeswehr, homosexuality or bisexuality is no longer an excuse to be discriminated against in the military.
In 1986, the popular soap opera LindenstraÃÆ'Ÿe showed the first gay kiss on German TV. Since then, many other television shows have followed this example. Especially the creation of private TV stations in 1984 resulted in a more powerful same-sex presence in the media by the end of the decade. The RTL station in particular is very gay-friendly and some TV stars have been out by then.
Confirmation
In 2002, the German Government decided to cancel any penalties made during the Nazi period.
In May 2016, Justice Minister Heiko Maas announced that gay and bi men convicted of same-sex sexual activity after World War II would overthrow their beliefs. Mr. Maas said the following in a statement:
We can never completely eliminate this anger by the state, but we want to rehabilitate the victims. Homosexual people who are punished no longer have to live with the stain of conviction.
In October 2016, the German Government announced the introduction of a bill to forgive about 50,000 people for prosecutions they face because of their sexual orientation.
On March 22, 2017, the German Cabinet formally approved the bill. The bill, which also foresees compensation of EUR3,000 (Â £ 2,600) for each belief, plus EUR1,500 (£ 1,300) for each year of jail time penalizing men begins, then having to obtain parliamentary approval.
On June 22, 2017, the Bundestag (German Parliament) unanimously passed a bill to implement a scheme to rehabilitate gay men. The bill then returned to the Bundesrat for approval and was signed into law by the President on July 17, 2017.
Maps LGBT rights in Germany
Recognition of same-sex relations
Equal sex partners have been legally recognized in Germany since 2001. That year, registered life partnerships (effectively, a form of civil union) were institutionalized, granting the rights and duties of same-sex couples in areas such as inheritance, benefits, health insurance, visits immigration, hospitals and prisons, and name changes. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court has repeatedly decided to support same-sex couples in registered partnerships, which require the Bundestag to make additional changes to the partnership law. In one case, the European Court ruled that denying widow pensions to same-sex couples of the dead was direct discrimination if the partnership was comparable to marriage (see same-sex unions in the European Union).
Although the majority of political parties in the Bundestag support legalize same-sex marriage, efforts to follow up the proposal have been repeatedly blocked by the CDU/CSU, the largest parliamentary party and dominant party in the government coalition since 2005. This changed on the last day of the Bundestag before the 2017 summer holidays, when the junior party in the coalition, the Social Democratic Party, proposed a bill to legalize marriage and same-sex adoption that had previously passed the Bundesrat by September 2015. German Chancellor Merkel moderated his stand on the issue by allowing CDU/CSU members to follow their personal conscience rather than the line party, which frees moderate members who have long supported same-sex marriages to vote for. On 30 June 2017, the SPD, Die Linke and Green Party and 75 moderate members of the CDU/CSU formed a majority in the Bundestag to pass the bill with 393 votes to 226. The law came into effect three months after it was announced on October 1, 2017.
The first German marriage is celebrated on October 1, 2017. The Berlin pair Karl Karlsre and Bodo Mende, the 38-year-old couple, are the first of its kind to swear under the new law and do so in the city hall of SchÃÆ'¶neberg, Berlin.
Adoption and parenting
In 2004, this registered partnership legislation (originally enacted in 2001) was amended, effective January 1, 2005, to provide equal-sex couples with limited adoption rights (adoption of stepchildren only) and reformed previous complicated dissolution procedures with respect to distribution of property and benefits. In 2013, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that if one of the same-sex couples had adopted a child, another couple had the right to be the foster mother or father of the child as well; this is known as "sequential adoption". The same-sex marriage law, passed in June 2017, provides couples who share the same adoption rights. On October 10, 2017, a court in Berlin's Kreuzberg district approved the first application for adoption with a child by same-sex couples.
There is no legal right to aid reproductive procedures for lesbian couples, such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, but such practices are not explicitly prohibited as well. The German Medical Association opposes explicit legalization and directs its members not to perform such procedures. Since these directives are not legally binding, banks and sperm doctors can work with lesbian clients if they so wish. This makes it difficult for German lesbian couples to have children rather than in some other countries, but is becoming increasingly popular.
Military services
LGBT people are not banned from military service.
The Bundeswehr defended a "glass ceiling" policy that effectively forbade homosexuals from becoming officers until 2000. First Lieutenant Winfried Stecher, a military officer descended on his homosexuality, filed a lawsuit against former Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping. Scharping vowed to fight claims in court, claiming that homosexuality "raises serious doubts about conformity and excludes work in all functions related to leadership". However, before the case was heard, the Defense Ministry reversed the policy. While the German government refused to issue an official explanation for the reversal, it is widely believed that Scharping was rejected by former Chancellor Gerhard SchrÃÆ'¶der and former Deputy Chancellor Joschka Fischer. Currently, according to general military orders granted in 2000, tolerance towards all sexual orientations is considered to be part of the duty of military personnel. Sexual intercourse and acts among soldiers outside of working hours, regardless of their sexual orientation, are defined as "irrelevant", regardless of the rank and function of soldiers involved, while abuse or abuse of functions is considered a violation, as well as the performance of sexual acts in active service. Transgender people can also serve openly in the German Armed Forces.
Protection of discrimination
In the areas of employment, goods and services, education and health services, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal throughout Germany.
Several state constitutions have anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender identity, including the Berlin constitution (since 1995), Brandenburg (since 1992), Bremen (since 2001), Saarland (since 2011) and Thuringia (since 1993) and Saxony-Anhalt in the public sector since 1997.
As a signatory to the Treaty of Amsterdam, Germany is required to amend its national anti-discrimination laws to include, inter alia, sexual orientation. Failed to do so for six years, due to a discussion of the scope of the proposed legislation. Some proposals are debated because they completely exceed the requirements of the Amsterdam Agreement (ie, extend discriminatory protection for all grounds of discrimination against the supply of goods and services); The final version of the law, however, has been criticized for not fully complying with some parts of the Agreement, particularly with respect to the specification of termination of employment contract through labor courts. [3] The Bundestag finally passed the Equal Treatment Act on June 29, 2006; The Bundesrat chose it without discussion on July 7, 2006. Upon entry into force on August 18, 2006, the law prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in employment, education, health care and the provision of goods and services.
Hate speech on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited in Germany. German law prohibits incitement to hate based on membership to a particular social or ethnic group.
Party position
The alternative Conservative Party for Germany (AfD), Christian Democracy Union and Christian Social Unity (CDU/CSU) opposed the full LGBT rights, but supported most of the basic rights as civil unions. All the other major parties, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Left, the 90's Alliance/Green Party and the Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) support LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage.
However, the CDU/CSU has been a senior coalition party in the government since 2005. During the past coalition with the SPD (2005-2009, 2013-present) and FDP (2009-2013), CDU/CSU generally blocked progress made by the parties other.
Gender identity and expression
Since 1980, the Gesetz ÃÆ'¼ber die ÃÆ'â € žnderung der Vornamen und die Feststellung der GeschlechtszugehÃÆ'¶rigkeit on the besonderen FÃÆ'¤llen states that transgender people can change their legal sex after genital change and sterilization operations. In January 2011, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that both of these requirements were unconstitutional.
Intersex Rights
Since 2013, German law has allowed children born with atypical sexual anatomy to have their sex left blank rather than categorized as male or female. The Swiss activist group Zwischengeschlecht criticized this law, arguing that "if the child's anatomy is not, in the doctor's view, according to the category of men or women's category, there is no choice but to retain the male or female label given to all other children". The German Council of Ethics and the Swiss National Advisory Committee also criticized the law, saying that "instead of self-deciding people, decisions about sex work are done in infancy by doctors and parents".
In November 2017, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht ) ruled that civil status law should allow a third gender option. This means that intersex people will have no choice but to be registered as a woman or man or have an empty gender entry.
Blood donor
Bone marrow donation has been permitted since December 2014.
In June 2016, German health ministers announced that a ban on gay and bisexual men who donate blood should be lifted, replacing it with a one-year suspension period. The proposal to lift the ban was championed by Monika Bachmann, Minister of Health of Saarland.
Since the summer of 2017, gay and bisexual men are allowed to donate blood, provided they do not have sex for twelve months.
Gay politicians and lesbians openly
There are some prominent German politicians who are gay openly. Among them is the former mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit (has issued himself with the famous words "Ich bin schwul - und das ist auch gut so!" [English: "I am a gay - and that's a good thing!"]) And Johannes Kahrs (from SPD); Volker Beck, Kai Gehring, Ulle Schauws, Gerhard Schick, Anja Hajduk (from the Green Party); Harald Petzold (The Left); Jens Spahn, Stefan Kaufmann (from CDU); Bernd Fabritius (from CSU); Michael Kauch and Guido Westerwelle, former Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and former head of the liberal Free Democratic Party. In addition, former Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust (Christian Democratic Association) did not deny anything when his father took him out but considered it a personal matter; After leaving the office, he starts talking about his homosexuality. In July 2007, Karin Wolff, who was then Minister of Education for Hesse, came out as a lesbian. In December 2013, Barbara Hendricks (SPD), Federal Minister for the Environment in Third Merkel Cabinet, came out as a lesbian. In 2012, Michael Ebling (SPD) became Mayor of Mainz. In 2013 and 2015, Sven Gerich (SPD) and Thomas Kufen (CDU) became Gay mayors in Wiesbaden and Essen, respectively.
Public opinion
The Pew Research Center poll of 2013 shows that 87% of Germans see that homosexuality should be accepted by society, which is the second highest in the world (only 39 countries surveyed) following Spain (88%).
Nevertheless, 46% of the 20,000 LGBT Germans say they are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation last year as per the results of the 2013 survey by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (47% is the EU average). Two thirds of respondents say they hide their sexual orientation at school and in public life and one fifth feel discriminated against at work.
In May 2015, PlanetRomeo, the LGBT social network, publishes its first Gay Happiness Index (GHI). Gay men from more than 120 countries are asked about how they feel about the public view of homosexuality, how they experience how they are treated by others and how satisfied they are with their lives. Germany was ranked 14th with a score of 68 GHI.
The 2017 poll found that 83% of Germans supported same-sex marriage, 16% opposed. In comparison, the Eurobarometer 2015 found that 66% of Germans thought that same-sex marriage should be allowed across Europe, 29% opposed.
Summary table
(*) Some states have their own anti-discrimination laws covering sexual orientation and gender identity.
See also
- same-sex marriage in Germany
- LSVD
- Intersex Rights in Germany
- Transgender rights in Germany
- Human rights in Germany
- LGBT Rights in Europe
References
- ^ German Wikipedia on the Same Treatment Act (website version as of 6 November 2006)
- ^ Jennifer V. Evans. Moral circumstances: Men, mining, and masculinity early in the GDR, German history <23,
- ^ Heidi Minning. Who is "I" in "I love you"?: Negotiating gay and lesbian identity in former East Berlin, Germany. Anthropology of Eastern Europe Review , Volume 18, Number 2, Autumn 2000
External links
- Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland (LSVD) - German Lesbian and Gay Federation (in German)
- lgbti.de - LGBTI Initiative for certification and sealing (in German)
- Queer - Schwul informiert - LGBT news from Germany and around the world (in German)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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