Is Germany actually becoming more queer-friendly now that the election is over?
At least everyone who is even a little bit interested in politics might have wondered right after the election (or maybe even earlier) what will change in the country now. Especially the queer community, which has been fighting for more equality for decades, but has also had to put up with one or two setbacks, will be curious to see what the traffic light coalition plans to do about LGBTQI+ issues.
Now that the coalition agreement is virtually ready to go to press, many questions about it can be answered. It has already been positively noted that the topic of "queerness" seems to play an important role. Nevertheless, many members are of the opinion that there is still "room forimprovement" in some areas.
The following sections provide a brief overview of the bright spots and potential "construction sites" in the new coalition agreement.
Point No. 1: A ban on discrimination
Among other things, it was decided that the equal treatment article in the Basic Law should be amended. It is to be explicitly introduced that it is forbidden to discriminate against people because of their sexual identity. Furthermore, the term "race" is to be replaced.
Some activists and organizations had demanded that the equal treatment article should in future refer to "sexual and gender identity" identity. This would have made the wording even more extensive and detailed. It can therefore be assumed that the amendment will not go far enough for some members of the community.
Point No. 2: An action plan
True to the motto: "Words should be followed by deeds!", the coalition plan also states that a national action plan is to be launched. This is intended to promote the acceptance and protection of sexual and gender diversity. Important points in this context relate, among other things, to the area of education and communication with young people, for example in schools. In addition, the action plan is intended to bring about an improvement in the situation for queer employees in companies. Statistics and surveys from the past have repeatedly shown that many people do not feel safe (or at least comfortable) in their professional environment.
The above examples alone show that the action plan covers a wide variety of areas and attempts to address many problems at their core - such as through educational work.
It is also particularly interesting in this context that most of the German states are already pursuing such a plan. However, the fact that the whole thing is now also being tackled additionally at the federal level now shows that there is apparently just a little more movement in the right direction.
Incidentally, another important component of the action plan is to strengthen the anti-discrimination office.
Item No. 3: The rights of rainbow families
This is a question that is being asked not only in Germany, but also currently in Switzerland, among other places: How can the rights of rainbow families be further strengthened?
According to the coalition agreement, the focus in the near future will be, among other things, on combating discrimination against families with same-sex parents and optimizing the law of parentage. The latter would mainly affect women. The goal: If a child is born into a woman-woman marriage, then - unless otherwise agreed - both are the legal mothers before the law.
Item #4: More services for older members of the LGBTQI+ community.
Last but not least, according to the coalition agreement, the rights of older members of the community are to be strengthened. In the past, there have been repeated discussions about this group of people being somewhat forgotten in the fight for more equal rights and more extensive offers of assistance and the like.
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