Consultation held on proposed directive safeguarding workers from radiation hazards.
In a recent development, the Federal Ministry of the Interior's plan to require additional data sheets for individuals changing their gender entry and first name in the civil registry has sparked controversy. The proposed regulation would involve storing and passing on data about the previous gender entry and former first names of trans people, raising concerns about privacy, discrimination, and potential stigmatization.
Queer associations and activists strongly oppose this plan, viewing it as a system of mistrust that could exacerbate discrimination and marginalization. They argue that such data collection is unnecessary and risks turning personal information into a tool for exclusion rather than protection.
The ministry defends the plan, stating that it is necessary for updating the data already stored for the person and ensuring that individuals who have changed their gender entry can still be identified in official registers and information systems. A separate data sheet with the previous gender entry is part of the ministry's plan.
However, the German Society for Trans and Intergender (dgti) and the Queer Diversity Association find this plan to be a massive invasion of privacy and a contradiction to the Self-Determination Act, which will come into force on November 1, 2021, making it easier to change the gender entry and first name at the registry office.
The Queer Diversity Association shares a similar view, stating that the recording, transmission, and disclosure of sensitive information about previous gender entries and first names, and thus always also about a person's transsexuality, may only take place under strict conditions. They warn that this approach fosters distrust and undermines rights gained under laws like the Self-Determination Act.
The ministry explains that the authorities to which the data is sent will be able to recognize and enforce the disclosure ban with the change. Other authorities such as the pension insurance and the Federal Central Tax Office are to be informed about the changes. However, the Queer Diversity Association finds it paradoxical that the disclosure ban is to be ensured precisely by an expansion of the storage and transmission of the information.
This opposition comes amid a wider context of political shifts in Germany, where conservative parties have expressed reservations about the Self-Determination Act and trans rights, making queer communities wary of further restrictive measures. The debate continues as both sides present their arguments, with privacy, discrimination, and self-determination at the heart of the discussion.
- The controversy surrounding the Federal Ministry of the Interior's plan to require additional data sheets for individuals changing their gender entry and first name in the civil registry has expanded to include the realm of health-and-wellness, as concerns about mental-health implications arise.
- In the realm of science, experts are studying the potential effects of such a policy on the mental health of trans individuals, with concerns about increased stress, anxiety, and feelings of stigmatization due to the proposed data collection.
- Meanwhile, policy-and-legislation debates heat up, as activists argue for the protection of health-and-wellness and mental-health rights, advocating for a review of the ministry's plan in light of the Self-Determination Act and privacy concerns.
- As the debate unfolds, politics becomes intertwined with general-news, with conservatives expressing reservations about trans rights and the Self-Determination Act, adding another layer of complexity to the discourse surrounding health-and-wellness, sexual-health, and mental-health policies.
