08 Juli 2022
Transgender Women Athlete Exclusion in Disguise
A heated debate about the participation of transgender and non-binary people in female competitions is on-going worldwide. Just last month, the International Swimming Federation adopted a new policy which prevents transgender women from participating in its female top-competitions. Without any possibility for the affected group of transgender women athletes to participate in FINA’s top-competitions, the policy is disproportionate and discriminatory, and has the potential to violate other human and children’s rights. Continue reading >>
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02 Juni 2022
Dating-Tipps vom Bundesverwaltungsgericht
Bundeswehrsoldat*innen mit besonderen repräsentativen Funktionen müssen beim Online-Dating Zurückhaltung üben. Diese Entscheidung des 2. Wehrdienstsenats des BVerwG vom 25. Mai 2022 ist nicht nur deshalb kritikwürdig, weil sie das Recht auf sexuelle Selbstbestimmung durch heteronormative Moralvorstellungen einschränkt. Ebenso problematisch ist, dass eine antidiskriminierungsrechtliche Betrachtung des Falls ausgeblieben ist. Continue reading >>06 April 2022
Evasive, Insensitive, Ignorant, and Political
Czech law stipulates that a trans person who seeks gender reassignment must undergo surgery “while simultaneously disabling the reproductive function and transforming the genitalia.” Although a majority of judges of the Czech Constitutional Court agreed that this requirement is clearly unconstitutional, the provision has nevertheless withstood constitutional scrutiny and remains part of the Czech legal order. Continue reading >>
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21 Januar 2021
English Court Blocks Puberty Blockers in Anti-Trans Craze Judgment
In a far-reaching and immediately impactful judicial review decision, the English High Court conflates puberty blockers and medical transition and decides puberty blockers should not be available to trans youth under the age of 16. The court gives the reason that puberty blockers ‘lead down a pathway to medical transition’ which can have some irreversible effects. According to the court, young persons under the age of 16 cannot appreciate the significance of these potential, and potentially irreversible effects in the areas of sexual functioning and fertility. Better then, is the court’s logic, to let them experience the irreversible effects of puberty. The decision puts trans children’s lives at risk and only makes eventual transition much more invasive. Continue reading >>24 Mai 2020
Der biologische Essentialismus hinter „lediglich empfundener Intersexualität“
Das Recht lebt von Kategorisierungen. Kategorisierungen wiederum implizieren Begrenzungen, sogar gewaltsame Begrenzungen. Der aktuelle Beschluss des Bundesgerichtshofs zur „lediglich empfundenen Intersexualität“ bringt dies besonders deutlich zum Vorschein: Die scheinbar rechtstechnische Frage nach der anwendbaren Norm für die Änderung oder Löschung eines personenstandsrechtlichen Geschlechtseintrags entpuppt sich als zutiefst politisch. An ihr kristallisieren sich grundlegende Fragen zu Geschlechterverständnissen, zu Körperlichkeit, und zu Selbst- und Fremdbestimmung. Continue reading >>24 August 2018
New German Intersex Law: Third Gender but not as we want it
The new German draft law to introduce a third option in personal status law has overwhelmingly been decried as a missed historical opportunity, or even as counterproductive, for a variety of reasons. The main criticisms are that the third option does not fully recognize gender diversity as it will only be available to those with a medical diagnosis of an intersex condition, and that the government failed to genuinely consider the alternative option presented by the Constitutional Court – that of scrapping sex/gender registration altogether. Continue reading >>13 April 2017
Stopping forced sterilisation is not enough – the limitations of the recent ECHR judgement on trans rights
The recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in A.P., Garçon and Nicot v. France constitutes an important decision for trans rights in many ways. The ECtHR determined that France’s requirement of sterilisation, applying to persons wishing to legally change their names and gender on their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity, is a violation of the right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Continue reading >>
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