From: Thomas.Weihrich@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de (Thomas Weihrich)
Newsgroups: alt.transgendered
Subject: Transgendered people in Germany - Coverage by media
Date: 22 Dec 92 13:58:12 GMT
Organization: University of Oldenburg, Germany

Hi folks,

I think you might be interested in official position regarding the
"treatment" <- NEUTRAL !! context, I do not intend to sound
biased - of people suffering from gender dysphoria. All of this
information is based on reports in the media, such as TV (German TV is
partially owned and run by the state) and newspaper reports. I do not
have first hand knowledge, since I have not undergone this procedure and
I doubt I ever will.
There was a report on German state operated TV (ARD
for those who care) about the "journey" that a m -> f TS went on. This
journey resulted in SRS and took him/her more than a year. The report
focused on the actual proceedings, the reaction of the parents, the
medical background and the official (authorities) reaction. It was
broadcast about 2 years ago.
The report was very unbiased - I'll leave out the personal story of this
particular TS and focus on the procedings and the official position.
Basically, if a TS feels uncomfortable with his body and wants to have
that corrected, he is to see a psychologist first. This psychologist
will have to decide, whether this TS is suffering from gender dysphoria
and whether this can be cured by SRS. The TS must then see his health
insurance company to have them approve the whole procedure. As this
procedure (which I'll describe further below) takes at least 15 months
and costs a fortune, it is important to get the insurance to cover the
costs - they normally do pay even for SRS, if the doctor decrees that
there is a need for this.
The TS is required to live at least one year as a member of the opposite
sex community (m->f TS must live as a female). This is to ensure that (s)he 
won't suffer from gender dysphoria after the irreversible SRS.
The psychologist (and encrynologist (sp?)) is responsible for the proper
hormone treatment during this one year period.  Naturally the TS has to
see this doctor every 2 to 4 weeks to get his/her hormone treatment and
have the doctor do the evaluation, depending on which it will be decided
whether the TS will be admitted to SRS or not. At the end of the one
year period the doctor files a report.
Based on this report the TS will (or won't) get an appointment in a clinic 
and will undergo SRS. Removal of facial hair, etc. is needed as well
(can you imagine a woman with a thick beard ?). After having recovered 
from the somewhat harsh
operation (the report documented cleary what steps were needed) the TS
will have to get his/her official documents (like driver's license,
passport, ID, etc) changed. In order to accomplish it, there has to be
an official decree from a court. After SRS the court rules that since
the previous gender specific organs have been removed the TS can now be
counted as a member of the opposite sex. This results in a change of all
the necessary documents giving the TS the opportunity to live a
(relatively) normal life as a member of the desired sex. This includes
the option of marriage - TS are not excluded from this after having
undergone SRS. Naturally these
procedures happen in absolute privacy, since privacy in such matters is
crucial for the well being of the individual TS involved.
The whole procedure (apart from fees involved for new documents such as
a passport) is paid for by the health insurance. This includes the costs
that arise for removal of facial hair, the costs for psychological and
hormone treatment and the SRS itself. 

So far the report on TV.

Coverage in the newspapers is a bit weak. Once in a while there is a
very small notice that Joe.Dude underwent SRS and has his been
officially recognized as Jane.Dudette (sorry, couldn't think of a
fitting example). Even here no full names are given to ensure the
privacy of the individual.

In fact Germany appears to be very liberal and supportive for people
suffering from gender dysphoria. It would be great if Germany were as
tolerant towards homosexuals as to transsexuals - but that's still a long way
to go. 

The information this posting is based upon was collected by me after
having watched the report on gender dysphoria and having read several
newspaper articles covering this topic. I do not claim it to be
absolutely 100 % correct, as I have no first hand knowledge. Please keep
this in mind. 

If any phrases in my posting seem to be offensive, I would like to
apologize. I am not a native English speaker and thus I have some
difficulties in recognizing a phrase as being offensive. 

Regards

Thomas







-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Weihrich					| NIC-Handle TW166
Thomas.Weihrich@Informatik.Uni-Oldenburg.DE	|
						|	   _
Thomas.Weihrich@WWWA.ORG			|	  /_/__     _
						|	 (_/(__)==== \
------------------------------------------------|	 ,-,\%=] ,-,\[
						|	( O )## ( O )
 I really need to do a backup -		        |--------'-'-----'-'----------
 	it would be terrible if 		|
	 only a single gif got lost		| Steed = '90 K100 LT
						|
#include <std_disclaimer.h>			------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| For PGP Public Key finger elrond@arwen.Informatik.Uni-Oldenburg.DE         |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Newsgroups: alt.transgendered