Germany: Gender self-ID law fails to address implications for women and girls, says Special Rapporteur

GENEVA – The Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, today expressed concern about the human rights implications for women and girls of Germany’s Gender Self-Determination Act, which allows the change in legal sex based on self-identification, removing previous judicial and medical requirements.

She said that though aimed at enhancing the rights of transgender individuals, the law, which comes fully into force on 1 November 2024, undermines the safety, privacy, and other human rights of women and girls, especially those affected by male violence.

"The Gender Self-Determination Act lacks the needed safeguards to prevent abuse of the process by sexual predators and other perpetrators of abuse and violence, including in single-sex spaces," Alsalem said.

She emphasised that the Act’s conflation of gender identity and sex will have serious implications for the safety of women and girls in spaces such as shelters, bathrooms and changing rooms. She also warned the law does not sufficiently account for the specific needs of female victims of violence, who may be re-traumatised or feel compelled to self-exclude if forced to share spaces with individuals who are born male, irrespective of how they identify.

“These challenges are further exacerbated by the Act’s ban on disclosing without consent, investigating, or inquiring about a person’s previously recorded legal sex and name. This would have a substantial impact on freedom of opinion and expression, as well as on freedom of thought, conscience and religion, respectively.”

Alsalem also expressed serious concern over the implications of this Act, with children as young as 14 being allowed to change their legal sex/gender and name, even against their parents’ advice, if approved by a family court.

“Removal of the previous requirement for therapeutic accompaniment may lead to children facing undue pressure or not fully understanding the long-term implications of their decisions due to their age and maturity. In view of the link between social and medical transition, the Act fails to safeguard the best interests of children, particularly girls, and to ensure protection for their rights to the highest attainable standard of health and to preserve their identity,” she said.

Alsalem called on Germany to take immediate steps to address these critical shortcomings, including by introducing measures to prevent the law from being abused and ensuring that single-sex spaces for women and girls are maintained as a matter of priority.

The Special Rapporteur has raised these concerns with the Government of Germany and received the Government’s written response.