According to Jan Noll, the editor-in-chief of the "Siegessäule" (Victory Column) magazine, it is still "sometimes incredibly difficult especially for trans* people to change their marital status". The law on the third option, which came into force in December 2018 and allows the gender specification "divers" in addition to male and female for the first time, has been sharply criticized by the LGBTQ community. "Spartacus" sees the third big minus point for Germany as a travel destination in the lack of modern legislation for transgenders and queers.
At the federal level, no comparable initiative has yet been planned. In Germany, on the other hand, only states like Berlin have adopted action plans. "French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to a similar increase," said Leander Milbrecht. Nevertheless, the fact that Germany has not reacted to the rise in the number of reported attacks with an action plan has, in the view of "Spartacus," had a further negative effect on the ranking in the GTI. Obviously, they are not discouraged by reports of increasing violence against the LGBTQ community. On the contrary: The 50th anniversary year of the New York Stonewall uprising of gay men against arbitrary police action is expected to see even more participants from all over the world than usual in the German capital. Jan Noll, editor-in-chief of the queer Berlin city magazine " Siegessäule" (Victory Column), urged caution in an interview with DW. "I wouldn't say that homophobic attacks in Germany have taken on an extent that would discourage queer people from travelling here," he said. Read more: Pride, film history - what 2019 means for the LGBT community Could all this have changed so dramatically? Should a travel warning be issued, especially now that the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parades are being celebrated everywhere in Germany's cities with many LGBTQ tourists attending? And Berlin as a desirable destination for persecuted lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and queers fleeing their homelands. In the eyes of the international community, Germany has been seen a liberal and tolerant country.
The editorial team of Spartacus, a renowned provider of travel guides for gay men, compiles the GTI for 197 countries and regions each year using a range of criteria: Are there any threats of persecution, the death penalty or violent attacks? Is there state-sanctioned discrimination, such as travel restrictions for HIV-positive people or are Pride parades banned? And what about civil rights? This also includes marriage equality, which became legal in Germany in 2017. Leander Milbrecht from the editorial team of "Spartacus" Berlin