Rhineland-Palatinate: Agency for gender changes according to the legal reform!

Rhineland-Palatinate: Agency for gender changes according to the legal reform!

in Rhineland-Palatinate is a remarkable decline in the demand for changes in gender entries and first names after the Self-Determination Act came into force around 100 days ago. Civil offices in the region report significantly fewer inquiries and noticeably, which indicates a changed demand for the new regulations. This is particularly striking in cities like Trier, where many changes were recorded at the beginning. After an initial increase, however, the inquiries have become rare.

in Trier, around 70 changes were registered in the first two weeks since the law came into force, with male entries in particular being desired. In Mainz, where a total of 101 changes have been made since November, there was a similar picture: Here, too, the most common change was to the male gender identity. In contrast, registration offices in cities such as Ludwigshafen, Kaiserslautern or Koblenz report hardly any noteworthy inquiries about the new procedure.

Sustainable changes through the Self -Determination Act

The Self-Determination Act, which came into force on November 1, 2024, enables transp-, inter-braided and non-binary persons to change their gender entry and first names at the registry office without the need for a medical report or a judicial decision. The legislator wanted to strengthen the rights to free development of the personality, the protection of privacy and non -discrimination. The law represents a paradigm shift, since it replaces the outdated transsexual law of 1980 and Germany in the series of other countries that have made similar regulations. This information was provided by bmfsfj

From August 1, 2024, an important paragraph of the law also came into force, which enables those affected to register the change in their gender entrance and first name at least three months before the actual declaration at the registry office. This is done regardless of the place of birth or the location of the marriage and can be done in writing, personally or via online forms. It is important to note that the registration becomes invalid if the declaration is not submitted within six months. There is already a lot of information that is made available by the responsible ministries.

community and church reactions

The reasons for the decline in inquiries in cities such as Mainz and Kaiserslautern are partially explained by the fact that many potentially affected people were already well informed and had been waiting for the entry into force of the law. This could indicate that the awareness of the new regulations already affects the use. Another interesting detail comes from the diocese of Trier, which plans to make the corresponding changes in church documents - preparations for this have already started. However, there are no comparable steps in the dioceses of Mainz and Speyer.

For a comprehensive information basis for the changes and the procedure, the bmfsfj Agree that summarizes the most important points of the law.

The social debate about gender and identity has long been in progress, but the Self -Determination Act sets a new standard. Observations of inquiries and the practical implementation in the municipal area will continue to be of interest in order to capture the actual influence of this law on the everyday life of those affected.