We’ve come a long way in the last 10 years. We’ve made a lot of progress but we’ve also lost some ground internationally when it comes to LGBTQ rights. Here is a review of the last decade.
Germany: Transgender Germans demand compensation for sterilization
BERLIN (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When German authorities insisted Tsepo Bollwinkel get sterilized in order to be legally considered a man 25 years ago, he was “eager to follow the rules, even if they sounded insane”.
Now Bollwinkel, a 58-year-old empowerment coach, wants compensation for himself and potentially thousands of other trans people who underwent mandatory sterilization to change their sex on identity documents before legal reform in 2011. Back in 1994, “I felt grateful for that opportunity because it was important for me to get legal recognition,” said Bollwinkel, who is also campaigning for a government apology, backed by Bundesverband Trans* (BvT), a trans advocacy group.
Today Bollwinkel’s goal is to make Germans aware of the country’s dark history of sterilisation - dating back to the Nazi era - and to acknowledge the rights of trans people, despite conservative attitudes among many voters and lawmakers. Several European nations still require trans people to undergo surgery and sterilization, or be diagnosed with a mental disorder, to have their new gender legally recognized, Transgender Europe advocacy group says. Read more via Reuters
Japan top court upholds 'sterilization' rule for gender change
Sweden: Historic Victory for Trans People
Japan Forces Sterilization on Transgender People
Why transgender people are being sterilised in some European countries
Norway: No surgery mandate for sex change
Acting on a plan drafted by Norway's ministry of health and social affairs this past April, the 13-member Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board voted to discontinue the forced-sterilization rule for transgender men and women seeking to change their gender legally and open the doors for them to receive reproduction assistance including in vitro fertilization.
While the board voted unanimously to drop forced sterilization, a minority went against extending reproductive assistance on grounds that being pregnant is associated with motherhood and a person cannot insist on being a woman and getting pregnant and be a man at the same time.
The bill also drops psychiatric and medical evaluations for children between seven and 16 years of ago who - after consulting with their parents - decide to legally change their gender. Health and social affairs minister Bent Hoie said the proposal "is historic in that it will no longer be the health service but the individual who decides if he or she has changed sex." Read more via Courthouse News Service
Europe: The Best And Worst Places In Europe To Be Trans
Transgender people might be more visible than ever, but across much of Europe having their gender identity recognised by law remains either impossible, or beset by obstacles. The group Transgender Europe has released a report with a wealth of detailed findings about the differing rights of trans people across the continent. The study compared policies and laws for trans people in 22 different areas, including asylum, employment discrimination, hate speech laws, goods and services discrimination, and whether official documents can be changed to register gender identity. Read more