Global InformationLGBT rights in Germany information
LGBT rights in Germany | |
|---|---|
 Location of Germany (dark green) – in Europe (light green & dark grey) | |
| Status | Decriminalised since 1968 in East Germany and since 1969 in West Germany Equal age of consent since 1988 in East Germany and since 1994 in unified Germany |
| Gender identity | Transgender people are allowed to change legal gender without required sterilisation and surgery[1] |
| Military | LGBT people allowed to serve |
| Discrimination protections | Sexual orientation and gender identity protection nationwide; some protections vary by region (see below) |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage since 2017 |
| Adoption | Full adoption rights since 2017 |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Germany rank among the highest in the world; having evolved significantly over the course of the last decades.[2][3] During the 1920s and the early 1930s, lesbian and gay people in Berlin were generally tolerated by society and many bars and clubs specifically pertaining to gay men were opened.[4] Although same-sex sexual activity between men was already made illegal under Paragraph 175 by the German Empire in 1871, Nazi Germany extended these laws during World War II, which resulted in the persecution and deaths of thousands of homosexual citizens. The Nazi extensions were repealed in 1960 and same-sex sexual activity between men was decriminalized in both East and West Germany in 1968 and 1969, respectively.
Same-sex marriage has been legal since 1 October 2017, after the Bundestag passed legislation giving same-sex couples full marital and adoption rights on 30 June 2017.[5] Prior to that, registered partnerships were available to same-sex couples, having been legalised in 2001. These partnerships provided most though not all of the same rights as marriages, and they ceased to be available after the introduction of same-sex marriage. Same-sex stepchild adoption first became legal in 2005 and was expanded in 2013 to allow someone in a same-sex relationship to adopt a child already adopted by their partner.[6]
Discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity vary across Germany, but discrimination in employment and the provision of goods and services is banned nationwide. Transgender people have been allowed to change their legal gender since 1980. The law initially required them to undergo surgical alteration of their genitals in order to have key identity documents changed. This has since been declared unconstitutional.[7] In May 2020, Germany became the fifth nation in the world to enact a nationwide ban on conversion therapy for minors.[8]
Despite the biggest opposition party—that headed the government from 2005 to 2021—being socially conservative on the issues of LGBT rights (CDU/CSU), Germany has frequently been seen as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world.[9][10] Recent polls have indicated that a large majority of Germans support same-sex marriage.[11][12] Another poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center, in 2013 indicated that 87% of Germans believed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, which was the second highest score in the 39 countries polled, following Spain (88%).[13] Berlin has been referred to by publications as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.[14] Former Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit is one of the most famous openly gay men in Germany,[15] next to the former Mayor of Hamburg, Ole von Beust, the former Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn,[16] the deceased former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor, Guido Westerwelle,[17] the former Federal Ministry of the Environment, Barbara Hendricks,[18] comedians Hape Kerkeling,[19] and Hella von Sinnen,[20] or political journalist Anne Will.[21] Founded in 1981, the Akademie Waldschlösschen, an adult education conference center near Göttingen, has developed into a national networking hub for LGBTI teachers, lawyers, clergy, gay fathers and gay and lesbian student groups at German universities. Other famous gay rights activists include Rosa von Praunheim, whose film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives (1971) triggered the modern gay liberation movement in Germany.[22]
- ^ "Prerequisites for the statutory recognition of transsexuals according to § 8.1 nos. 3 and 4 of the Transsexuals Act are unconstitutional" (PDF). Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Staff (1 January 2023). "LGBT Equality Index: The Most LGBT-Friendly Countries in the World". Equaldex. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "Germany". IGLTA. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Ginn, H. Lucas (12 October 1995). "Gay Culture Flourished in Pre-Nazi Germany". Update, Southern California's gay and lesbian weekly newspaper. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "Germany's Bundestag passes bill on same-sex marriage". Deutsche Welle. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "German court expands adoption rights of gay couples". Reuters. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "ERT Notes Steps Taken Around the World Recognising the Gender Identity of Gender Variant Persons". Equal Rights Trust. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ Fitzsimmons, Timothy (8 May 2020). "Germany is 5th country to ban conversion therapy for minors". NBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ Rebecca Baird-Remba (23 March 2013). "World's Most Gay Friendly Countries". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "The 20 most and least gay-friendly countries in the world". GlobalPost. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "Enquête sur la droitisation des opinions publiques européennes" [Survey of the European public about changes in law] (PDF). IFOP Département Opinion et Stratégies d'Entreprise (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "Same-Sex Marriage Citizens in 16 Countries Assess Their Views on Same-Sex Marriage for a Total Global Perspective". Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
- ^ "The Most Gay-Friendly Country in the World is... - Spain, followed by Germany, Czech Republic, and Canada, new study finds". Newser.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ Marcus Field (17 September 2008). "The ten best places in the world to be gay". The Independent. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
Berlin. It may have taken 75 years, but the German capital once again enjoys the kind of open gay scene that Christopher Isherwood described so evocatively in his 1939 memoir Goodbye to Berlin. Perhaps the painful period of Nazi rule and division makes the city even more attractive to people with alternative lifestyles - you have to be unconventional to want to live here. The magnificently restored 19th-century buildings, the grand boulevards and the famous park and woodlands make the perfect backdrop for queer culture. A former mayor of Berlin is gay, the Kit Kat club still exists, and Europe's first exclusively gay old people's home - the Asta Nielsen Haus - opened in the city this year.
- ^ "Vor 15 Jahren schrieb Klaus Wowereit Geschichte". queer.de (in German). Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Out on the Right: On Being Gay, Conservative and Catholic". Spiegel Online. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Connolly, Kate (18 March 2016). "Guido Westerwelle, former German foreign minister, dies at 54". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ "Nebensatz outet Ministerin Hendricks als lesbisch". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ Tholl, Gregor (7 December 2011). "TV-Geschichte: Das skandalöse Zwangs-Outing Hape Kerkelings". Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ "Wir haben eine sehr freie Beziehung". FOCUS Online (in German). Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ Bisky, Jens (17 May 2010). "Anne Wills Outing: Der schönste Coming-Out-Satz". Sueddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- ^ "Germany's most famous gay rights activist: Filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 May 2020.