Trans woman continues fight against discrimination in professional life in Düsseldorf
It is always frightening how trans people are still discriminated against in this day and age. One example that made it into the media, among others, is the scandal surrounding the treatment of a trans woman from Moers. Her case has now been heard at the Düsseldorf District Court.
She had applied to a privately run nursing home and was not placed because of her transsexuality. Now she wants to obtain compensation for this.
What had happened?
This is an obvious question. Why is the trans woman suing for compensation? What exactly happened?
The reason for her action is that she feels discriminated against. Last fall, she did a trial job at a private nursing home. The whole thing had actually gone well and the potential employer had also been satisfied with her performance. Nevertheless, she received a rejection in response to her application. She is sure that this is due to her gender identity and decided to fight back.
The issue has now been dealt with further in the course of a hearing. The operator of the private retirement home had offered the plaintiff a sum of 4,000 euros as compensation. However, the plaintiff wanted 6,000 euros because the behavior of the responsible employer was not compatible with the principle of equal treatment.
The parties now have about two weeks to agree on how to proceed and on the amount of compensation.
Where do the discrimination allegations come from?
One thing is certain: The accusations of discrimination made by the plaintiff do not come from nowhere. As a particular indication that she was refused the job, she states that in a message left on her mailbox, the head of the home addressed her now and then as "Mr." and now and then as "Ms.". In the end, he also said that the "no" to her application would be justified by "her inclination".
For example, some residents of the home allegedly stated that they did not want to be cared for by the trans woman. Those responsible at the home have since apologized to the plaintiff.
Heim is reportedly in a quandary
According to the current statements, the operators of the nursing home have no problem with hiring a trans woman. At the same time, however, it is important that the home takes the wishes of the residents seriously and responds to them. Accordingly, the problem around hiring would not lie with the operators, but rather with the people to be cared for. They have prejudices against transsexual people.
Another problem, he said, was that the advertised position referred to work on the night shift. Here, nursing homes are less staffed anyway. As a result, residents who - for whatever reason - do not want to be cared for by a particular person have virtually no alternative. During the day, the situation is somewhat different. Since there are more staff on site, there is a much greater degree of flexibility for all concerned.
At least those responsible at the care facility and the plaintiff seem to agree. The claims of 4,000 euros and 6,000 euros are also not too far apart.
Statistics and surveys show: Transsexuals are still discriminated against today
Surveys repeatedly show how many transsexuals are exposed to discrimination in everyday life. Among others, Beatrix von Storch (AfD) proved not too long ago that she obviously finds it difficult to correctly address a person who does not feel that they belong to their innate gender.
This makes it all the more important to further sensitize society in this regard and to repeatedly draw attention to this deplorable state of affairs.