Germany has officially passed the Self-Determination Act (SBGG), allowing parents to alter their infant’s gender at birth.
With the SBGG passing on April 12th, Germany will now recognize ‘gender identity’ as a secured trait, authorizing parents to change the sex of their children’s documents at birth.
Once the child reaches five, parents can also change their name, given there is “mutual consent” between the child and the parents.
Starting at 14, minors can change their name themselves but “require the consent of their guardians” to do so.
If parents refuse to give consent, “a family court would decide based on the best interests of the child,” allowing the state to override the parent’s or guardian’s decision.
A “blocking period” is included in the Act, meaning no further name changes can be made until one year passes from the last name change.
The SBGG also permits individuals to be fined up to €10,000 (almost $15,000 CAD) for disclosing someone’s given name and sex without their approval.
The Self-Determination Act was created “to implement a core idea of the Basic Law, the protection of gender identity, by giving people the opportunity to change their gender entry and first name without discrimination,” according to The German Parliament website.
Trans politicians advocated for SBGG
At the hearing, Tessa Ganserer and Nyke Slawik, two female-identifying politicians, were present to support the passing of the bill
Both individuals were elected to the German Parliament in 2021, taking political positions specifically reserved for females.
Ganserer has been demanding sex self-identification laws in Germany for years and stated, “a penis is not a male sexual organ” and “there are women who have penises.”
He was caught using women’s spaces before the passing of SBGG and began identifying as a woman at 41 years old after years of stealing his spouse’s clothing.
In multiple Instagram videos, Ganserer said, “This is an incredibly important historic decision, and that’s why it really takes a load off my mind that after so many years of hard work and so many years of waiting, I will also receive official ID documents in the future that will have my real name on them.”
“It is about time that we put an end to the unnecessarily long expert opinions and court proceedings to change names as an injustice and that we finally respect the dignity of trans, intersex, and non-binary people today,” Slawik added.
