Trans-inclusive Feminist Campaign

Member parties' positions

Austria - Belgium - Denmark - Finland - France - Germany - The Netherlands - Norway - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - UK - FYEG

Austria: Die Grünen

Women* and equality - True equality at all levels!

WHAT WE STAND FOR

Fair sharing and fair pay
Protection against violence, whether physical, psychological, or sexual
Obligatory women* quotas & women* promotion
A society free from sexism and discrimination

WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON

wage transparency
fair distribution of unpaid care work
Upgrading of jobs with a high percentage of women
secure and long-term financing of protection against violence and prevention of violence; the implementation of the Istanbul Convention
Sexual, health and reproductive self-determination: My body, my decision!

[Note on the usage if asterisk] The gender star/asterisk (German: Gendersternchen) is a nonstandard typographic style used by some authors in gender neutral language in German. It is formed by placing an asterisk after the stem and appending the feminine plural suffix "-innen". For example, Fahrer ([male] driver, singular & plural) becomes Fahrer*innen (drivers). The gender star makes it possible to refer to all genders while also including non-binary people. The use of the gender star can be traced back to 2013. It has been used by the Berlin Senate since 2017, and the German Green Party since 2015. (Source: Wikipedia)

[Read more]

Belgium: Ecolo

LGBTQI+
Building a truly inclusive society

In recent years, Belgian legislation governing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) people has created a favorable climate for the inclusion of everyone, regardless of their gender identity and their sexual orientation. These texts are established around specific criteria such as equality, anti-discrimination measures, the notions of families, the fight against crimes and hate speech.

Because what brings us together is infinitely stronger than what divides us, Ecolo wants to implement all possible policies so that sexual orientation and the question of gender identity become normalized subjects, which do not generate or fears, rejections, or violent reactions. Ecolo fights for a peaceful society, which is not afraid of differences, whatever they may be.

LGBTQI+ themes refer to multiple discriminations (women, foreigners, etc.), which increase exclusion. Consequently, it is a transversal work that needs to be carried out, at all levels: school, associations, sport, neighborhood, and public policies in particular, and in collaboration with other minorities (visible or not).

The difficulties encountered by LGBTQI+ people also raise the question more broadly – which affects everyone – of the place of sexuality in our societies. If hypersexualization has become a major phenomenon in our daily lives through advertising and the media, having a fulfilling, respectful sexuality where each person is aware of the scope of their actions and behaviors seems fundamental. Awareness and information therefore play an important role.

However, the responsibility of the public authorities is also to allow the work of sanctions and justice when violent or discriminatory behavior has been committed.

Finally, at European and international level, we can see that the legislation of each State must still meet criteria that promote human rights favorable to their citizens. Faced with the daily observation of violence against LGBTQI+ around the world, it is necessary to carry out a proactive policy in terms of raising awareness of the rights of LGBTQI+ in countries where homophobic legislation unfortunately still exists.

- Promote actions, messages to fight against crimes and hate speech against LGBTQI+ people

- Support actions that fight against all forms of discrimination

- Improve and strengthen support for associations

- Extend access to health

- Ensuring access to housing

- Ensure a place where minors are safe with socio-pedagogical monitoring

- Include social partners in a discrimination prevention program

- Provide the necessary training

- Identify harassment

- Respect the physical integrity of intersex people

- Guaranteeing rights to health care

- Inform intersex people and, for minors, those around them

- Train all personnel (medical, social, legal, educational, etc.) in contact with intersex people

- Ensure respect for human rights

- Facilitate gender/sex marker change based on self-determination and self-declaration

- Offer a dignified welcome to people fleeing violence related to gender identity or sexual orientation

Belgium: Groen

Gay and trans people

In legal terms, Belgium is a guiding country for equal rights for LGB and transgender people, thanks in part to Groen. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to eliminate discrimination and prejudice against LGBTQI+ (gay and transgender, intersex and queer people) in everyday life. Our party continues to lead the way and stands on the barricades for diversity in education, personalized care, a bold approach to discrimination and better legislation for transgender and gender-fluid people and new forms of parenting.

LGB marriage, adoption by LGB couples and legal protection against discrimination: Groen took the lead in each of these victories. Yet persistent prejudices about LGBTQI+ remain, with sometimes far-reaching consequences such as discrimination at school or work, or even violence.

Through education and leisure, we can break stereotyped gender patterns and heteronormativity and eradicate discrimination, hatred and violence. We include sexual diversity, gender diversity and diversity of families in the attainment targets of sexuality education. We also pay attention to diversity at work, in the sports club and in the hobby association.

In this way we can significantly boost the well-being of LGBTQI+, because that is desperately needed. Many LGBTQI+ suffer from mental health problems today. We ensure that those who need mental care are better taken care of. We do this by recognizing LGBTQI+ as a target group within healthcare. In this way a tailor-made policy can be drawn up. We are also paying more attention to diversity in residential care centers and home nursing.

Intersex people should have access to a well-trained, multidisciplinary care team. In this way, their physical integrity is always preserved, even with minors.

All these measures do not alter the fact that you can still be confronted with discrimination, hatred and violence. We ensure that victims easily find their way to the discrimination reporting point and are properly helped. We have the Flemish and Brussels inspection services carry out practical tests against discrimination. They can then pose as LGBTQI+ and apply for a job or sign up for a rental home. Employers and landlords who discriminate can be punished in this way.

In the meantime, we continue to tinker with the legislation. For example, we want gender to no longer be mentioned on your identity card and other government documents, so that you can determine your gender identity yourself. We provide a legal framework for new forms of parenting such as multiple parenthood and social parenting.

Finally, our country also plays a pioneering role internationally, because LGBTQI+ people are discriminated against, threatened or even persecuted in many countries. During diplomatic visits, we invariably place human rights on the agenda. The European Union must be a safe haven for people who have to flee their country because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

[Read more]

Denmark: Socialistiske Folkeparti (SF)

EQUALITY

In SF, we want a society with equality. We fight for equal rights and opportunities for all, regardless of gender, sexuality, gender identity, appearance or origin.

We need to do away with outdated norms and notions of what men and women can and should do. Therefore, SF is fighting for more women on boards and senior positions and more transparent and equal pay conditions. We want three months of earmarked maternity leave for both parents, and in general fathers need to have better opportunities to be a part of their child's life and information from the public about whether the child should accrue to both parents. With the Finance Act for 2020, we secured a maternity fund for the self-employed, so that they also have the opportunity to hold maternity leave with their child without turning the key.

Denmark should be a pioneer in the fight against human trafficking. SF has i.a. helped secure an action plan to combat trafficking in human beings. The victims must have better protection in Denmark and the perpetrators must be caught.

There must be a general ban on buying sex in Denmark, but there is also a need to help women out of prostitution environments.

We will take a hard line against digital violations and revenge porn. Social media must live up to their responsibilities, and victims must be entitled to help in removing offensive material online.

The pursuit of unattainable and false ideals creates fertile ground for anxiety, eating disorders and other disorders, especially young people. Therefore, we in SF want a showdown with outdated woman and body ideals, as you meet them in i.a. the advertising world.

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE LGBT + ENVIRONMENT

No matter what sexuality or gender identity one has, one must be able to live freely and not be met by prejudice, oppression, discrimination or hate crimes. Better public education and efforts in the education system and in the workplace must help to combat prejudices about LGBT + people. And then the sex education in the primary school must be updated and improved so that it is far more diverse and up to date.

The many modern and diverse family forms must be recognized so that co-mothers and fathers in rainbow families get more rights. And then Denmark must work actively to ensure that registered partnerships and marriages between homosexuals are recognized in all EU countries.

SF has helped remove transgenderism from the list of mental disorders. Now more rights must be secured as well as proper counseling, support and treatment in connection with a gender reassignment.

We must support all people's opportunities to break with limiting and dogmatic perceptions of sexuality and gender. That is why we have helped to secure the organizations that work for LGBT + people - both the young, the elderly and the particularly vulnerable, e.g. LGBT + people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

[Read more]

Finland: Vihreät de Gröna

[From Green policy objectives 2019 – 2023]

Objective 3: Recognize and recognize gender diversity

1. Implement a comprehensive reform of the Trans Law to address human rights violations against transgender people.

A distinction is made between legal and medical sex correction. Take the person's own declaration and self-determination as the basis for legal gender. The requirement of reproductive incapacity, medical conditions, and the requirement to live in a permanent gender role are removed from the conditions for the confirmation of sex. Gender remediation treatments will also be available for those who do not feel they are fit for a bisexual model. The age limit of 18 for the confirmation of legal sex is deleted. Improving the position of trans people. Enabling the availability of adolescent blocker therapy.

2. Add the possibility to choose the third option as legal sex.

Let us move on to gender-neutral IDs. The division of names between women and men will be abandoned.

3. Intra-genital surgery is discontinued.

Non-medically necessary genital surgical procedures for intersex children are prohibited. Counseling and other health care are trained to better identify and face intersex. It is possible that the child's gender does not need to be determined in the population register before the child can determine his or her own gender.

Read the original: https://www.vihreat.fi/ohjelmat/vihreiden-poliittinen-tavoiteohjelma-2019-2023/#Tavoite%203:%20Tunnistetaan%20ja%20tunnustetaan%20sukupuolten%20moninaisuus

Other useful sources from the Finnish Greens:

Resolution on defending human rights and equality:https://www.vihreat.fi/tavoitteet/ihmisoikeudet/
Finnish Greens Womens' Group political objectives 2020 – 2023: https://www.vihreatnaiset.fi/poliittinenohjelma/
Safe space rules:https://www.vihreatnaiset.fi/yhdistys-2/turvallisemman-tilan-saannot/
Inclusive gender vocabulary: https://www.vihreatnaiset.fi/yhdistys-2/sukupuolisanasto/
Statement of two Finnish MPs on the importance of self-determination for people under 18 (2021):https://www.vihreat.fi/ajankohtaista/lapsen-oikeudet-koskevat-myos-transtaustaisia-lapsia-ja-nuoria-itsemaaramisoikeutta-kunnioittavalla-translain-uudistuksella-on-kiire/
Party statement on the rights of intersex people (2021):https://www.vihreat.fi/ajankohtaista/translain-uudistuksessa-on-turvattava-intersukupuolisten-lasten-oikeudet/
Statement of the substitute head of party on delay of the overhaul of the Trans Act (2021):https://www.vihreat.fi/ajankohtaista/translaki-myohastyy-jalleen-koska-saamme-uuden-translain-eduskunnan-kasiteltavaksi-ministeri-kiuru/

France: Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV)

Les Écologistes 2022 programme ‘Vivant’: Positioning on gender identity and queer issues [p. 57]

[The background note]

The program ‘Vivant. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Biodiversité. Project pour une République Écologique’ is the program of the political platform uniting ecologist movements in France. In the context of the presidential and legislative elections in France in 2022, this participatory platform developed a comprehensive green vision of the movement for France. It features a chapter ‘Equality for everyone’.

In the introduction it references the importance of intersectionality where feminist, queer, anti-racist, and any other struggles against discrimination and marginalization are connected to and intersect with all political, social or environmental issues. The program states that “In place of a patriarchal and unequal system, we must create a more just society, respecting the dignity of each and everyone“. One of the demands of the program is hence to ensure access for all to fundamental rights.

Ban “conversion therapy”

"Conversion therapy" is already prohibited, but we will go further in condemning this violence. These practices, which consider homosexuality or trans identity as “diseases” and which aim to modify a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, are unacceptable. We will present a specific law prohibiting “conversion therapy”.

Facilitate the process for changes of first name and gender

To make a change of first name and/or gender, it is now necessary to go through a complex procedure, left to the discretion of the civil status services or the justice system and discouraging. These steps will be facilitated. Those for the change of first name must be able to be made in a declarative, free and cost-free manner with the civil status services, which will automatically ratify the request. Those for gender change will be done at the notary without medical condition or approval by a judge.

Train socio-educational staff on LGBTI+ issues

We will make initial and ongoing training on LGBTI+ issues mandatory for all socio-educational staff working with young people. We will support the professionalization of this training, which is currently largely provided by volunteers. We will put in place specific prevention measures to fight against the suicide of LGBTQI+ people: training of school nurses and psychologists, psychological support in places of accommodation for LGBTQI+ people.

Fight against discrimination in public services

The State must make public officials more aware of discrimination, by training them to guarantee a respectful reception of each and every one, of all couples, of all families, in particular for questions relating to civil status. Particular attention will be paid to welcoming transgender people. At the same time, we will review the documents and forms for access to public services to prevent them from being discriminatory. Same-sex parents, transgender people, should no longer be faced with a specific administrative difficulty that blocks access to their rights.

Affirm the universality of fundamental rights

In 2021, while in 124 countries on the planet it is not illegal to live one's homosexuality, 60 penalize it with prison sentences, and 13 others have a Penal Code which can pronounce the death penalty. We will adopt an active policy of defending human rights at the international level: France will sign and ratify protocol 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights, will support the work of the independent expert on sexual orientation and at the UN and will exchange regularly with international organizations defending human rights, and in particular the rights of LGBTI+ people. We will reactivate the international support fund for LGBTI+ organizations, ensuring that it meets the needs and means of these often very fragile organizations (micro-funding, flexibility on administrative procedures depending on the level of support requested). We will set up an LGBTI+ referent in all diplomatic representations with a direct contact address in order, in particular, to avoid having to deal with local staff for visa applications for asylum.

Fight against hate messages in the media

The media playing with the rules of the CSA to inflate the ratings against the background of hateful and discriminatory, racist, and sexist messages must be sanctioned. Financial sanctions, such as the ban on advertising or fines, will be taken to avoid sinking into an ever-stronger reactionary drift. The goal is not to ban these messages or to muzzle freedom of expression, but to recognize the limits of this freedom.

Another demand within this chapter of the program is the one for ecofeminism to finally achieve real equality. The program states: “Women make up more than half of humanity yet are still more hindered than men in taking up full roles in society. Since the MeToo movement, the stories have been heard more from those who suffer violence – going as far as feminicides – and who have been aggravated by repeated confinements. To put an end to a system that generates stereotypes, violence, and discrimination, we must act at the root, through education from a very young age, and by providing more resources to protect the victims of violence, guarantee the right of women to dispose of their bodies, and ensure the autonomy of all and economic equality with men. It is time to achieve equality between men and women in all areas and the abolition of relations of domination.”

Anchor the freedom of women to dispose of their bodies

Women must be able to live their sexuality freely and have children if they want to. This notably involves the prevention of gynecological and obstetrical violence, screening, and support for research in favour of treatments for diseases such as endometriosis. But also, by supporting and developing research for male contraception, in a logic of responsibility and equality. We will reaffirm the primacy of the right to contraception and voluntary termination of pregnancy over the freedom of conscience of the medical profession. In addition, the training of health personnel, and in particular of gynecologists and obstetricians, should include training modules on the specificities of care for lesbians and trans women, in order to facilitate access to care for the latter.

We will guarantee filiation by recognition as the default principle, we will support people in the process of procreation and allow them to choose between the different techniques, medicalized or not. We will reimburse PMA (medically assisted procreation) for all women and ensure equal access to PMA for all people capable of bearing a child. A contradictory debate on GPA (surrogacy) will have to be opened.

End sexual and gender-based violence

We will fight against gender stereotypes and violence from an early age, at school and in associations, to allow everyone to flourish and develop their skills. We will enforce the legal obligation of 3 hours of training per year on gender equality, enforce the implementation of inclusive sexuality education in schools and extend this gender equality training associative, cultural, and religious. We will put in place an annual investment plan of one billion euros to prevent, detect and sanction sexual and gender-based violence and protect exposed women: training of youth management staff, improvement of women's careers in danger - reception and orientation -, socio-economic support, removal of violent spouses. Anyone wishing to lodge a complaint and open an investigation after having suffered sexual violence or harassment has the right to be heard and their complaint must be taken into account. We will guarantee access to a support unit for victims of sexual violence and harassment in each police station, and increased training for those supporting victims.

Promote autonomy including financial and economic equality

To promote equality within households, the calculation of income tax will be individualized in order to strengthen the independence of each person; aid to companies will be conditional on strict equal pay and tougher penalties; the legal framework imposed on companies to support and protect women who are victims of violence will be strengthened. The wages and working conditions of the care professions, de facto predominantly female, will be upgraded.

Read the original here: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/6181b6eb4445ea720389b314/attachments/original/1643803625/programme_presidentiel_yannick_jadot.pdf?1643803625.

Other useful sources from EELV can be found at the LGBT branch of EELV: https://lgbt.eelv.fr/

Germany: Bündis 90/Die Grünen

[The background note]

The coalition plans to replace the controversial Trans-sexual Act "with a self-determination law", as stated in the coalition agreement. This would include "a procedure at the registry office that makes changes to the gender entry in the civil status possible in principle by means of self-disclosure". The federal government's queer commissioner, Sven Lehmann, announced to the ARD capital studio (February 23, 2022) that the cornerstones of the self-determination law should be in place before the parliamentary summer break. There had been a long struggle over who would be in charge, but now the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs and the Ministry of Justice are to tackle the law together. The Ministry of Family Affairs is in the hands of the Greens, the Ministry of Justice is in the hands of the FDP. Both parties had already presented draft bills in the last legislative period (before entering the federal government)

We promote equality for LGBTIQ*

We are committed to a coexistence in which lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans*, inter* and queer people (LSBTIQ* or queer) can live their lives independently and without discrimination and can participate on an equal footing. In a democratic society, everyone has the right to be themselves, anytime, anywhere, without fear. We want to eliminate the disadvantages and barriers that still exist. We resolutely oppose hostilities against LGBTIQ*.

Protecting freedom, fulfilling equal rights, fighting discrimination, and strengthening acceptance are our goals. We will ensure the protection and rights of people based on their sexual and gender identity.

The acceptance of LGBTIQ* has increased continuously, also thanks to the diverse commitment of civil society organizations and every individual coming out in Germany.

Nevertheless, some discriminatory regulations still exist today. Decades of legal criminalization, discrimination, exclusion, and humiliation have contributed to the social devaluation of LGBTIQ*. Paternalism, discrimination and even violence still characterize the lives of many LGBTIQ* today. We send a strong signal against legal discrimination, as well as disadvantages, hate crime and hostility in everyday life.

We take into account the special needs of LGBTIQ* in various policy areas. We want queer people to feel accepted in their environment, that they can walk hand in hand without fear, be allowed to show themselves openly at school, be judged only on athletic performance on the sports field and, of course, by their loved ones in the retirement home person can tell.

This is what we intend to do: This is how we create equal rights

We want to counteract the ongoing legal discrimination by adding “sexual identity” to Article 3 Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law. We will present a nationwide action plan "Live diversity!" for the acceptance of sexual and gender diversity with the aim of guaranteeing LGBTIQ* equal participation in social life. This also includes long-term structural support for LGBTIQ* associations, organizations, and foundations.

We will resolutely fight and punish hate crimes directed against LGBTIQ*. We want to lift the discriminatory blood donation ban for homosexual and bisexual men as well as for transgender people. To protect and strengthen queer young people, especially in rural areas, we want to start a nationwide awareness campaign for young people. Together with the federal states, we will work to ensure that gender diversity and diversity are reflected in the curricula and educational plans.

With a self-determination law, we will ensure that the outdated transsexual law is finally repealed, and that the correction of the gender entry and the name can be made easily. We want to enshrine in law the entitlement to reimbursement of costs for medical body adjustment measures.

We want to completely ban all operations and treatments on intersex children that are not medically necessary.

With the further development of "small custody" towards a joint parental responsibility, which can be transferred to up to two other adults upon application to the youth welfare office, we give everyone involved more security. Two-mother families should no longer have to go through the stepchild adoption process. That is why we want to reform parentage law in such a way that the co-mother automatically counts as the second legal parent, analogous to fathers in heterosexual marriages. If they wish to have children, all couples should have the option of reimbursement for the costs of artificial insemination. With the pact for living together we will create a new legal form that legally secures the coexistence of two people who take responsibility for each other, regardless of marriage.

In foreign policy, we will advocate the worldwide implementation of the Yogyakarta Principles for the Protection of LGBTIQ*. In development policy, we want to set a new focus here. Within the EU we are striving for common minimum standards that guarantee the protection of minorities.

It is perfectly clear that women must be protected against violence without any ifs or buts. Women must be able to move about public spaces safely and without discrimination. Of course, this also includes trans* women. Schools, sports clubs, swimming pools and facilities for refugees or accommodation for the homeless should therefore design their offers in such a way that protection against violence is guaranteed for all women.

According to the women's shelter coordination (which represents about 2/3 of the women's shelters in Germany), there are no known cases in which people with a transgender or intersex people have misused the offers of shelters.

[Read more]

The Netherlands: GroenLinks

LGBTIQA+ RIGHTS

GroenLinks takes a tough approach to discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity, both in the Netherlands and in Europe.

We want:

Fair gender policy. Mandatory gender registration with the government should be abolished.
LGBTIQA+ asylum seekers should be safe here.
A new Modern Parenting Act.

RAINBOW CHORD

The Rainbow Agreement was signed in 2017. This agreement includes eight promises to the LGBTIQA+ community, such as a multi-parent law and the abolition of gender registration by the government as much as possible.

Significant steps have already been taken. For example, in 2019, at the initiative of GroenLinks, among others, the Equal Treatment Act was expanded to include transgender and intersex people. An important next step is a Modern Parenting Act, which will give rainbow families the same rights and equality as traditional families. Families no longer always consist of a man and a woman.

Finally, it is necessary to speed up the abolition of compulsory sex registration with the government. It should be possible to choose an X on your identity papers.

DISCRIMINATION

There is still a lot of discrimination because of sexuality and gender identity. The prohibition on discrimination in Article 1 of the constitution will be extended in the spring of 2021, partly at the initiative of GroenLinks, which means that discrimination based on sexual orientation will also be constitutionally prohibited. LGBTIQA+ persons also experience violence of a discriminatory nature (hate crimes). The prohibition of discrimination should therefore be enforced more strictly. Reports should be taken seriously. All police regions will register violence against LGBTIQA+ people, and diversity networks within the police, such as Roze in Blauw, will be better safeguarded so that they are not dependent on the deployment of volunteers.

CONVERSION THERAPY, TRANSITION LEAVE AND WAITING LISTS

To strengthen the position of LGBTIQA+ people and to combat discrimination, we are starting an ambitious LGBTIQA+ policy. Special attention is paid to intersectionality. So-called 'conversion therapies' are banned. People who are temporarily unable to work because of a gender reassignment are entitled to paid leave.

The long waiting lists in transgender care must be eliminated and we also want to offer transgender care regionally as much as possible. In addition, there should be a legal ban on medically unnecessary treatment of intersex people without their own consent

Read the original here: https://groenlinks.nl/standpunten/gelijkwaardigheid/lgbtiq-rechten

Other useful sources:

GroenLinks Inclusivity policy: https://groenlinks.nl/sites/groenlinks/files/2022-01/Beleid%20Diversiteit%20Inclusie%20Gelijkwaardigheid.pdf

Norway: Miljøpar tiet de Grønne

Queer politics

The fight for equal rights is not over. The Greens support the fight for a better policy in Norway and elsewhere in the world.

The Greens want to:

Introduce a third legal gender category and gender-neutral social security numbers.
Prohibit conversion therapy
Strengthen the competence of the immigration administration in LGBTI + issues and ensure the opportunity to seek asylum in Norway for people who are fleeing because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
That all employees in the health and social services must be ensured competence in gender, relationship, and sexuality diversity.
Establish a compensation scheme for those who have been forced to sterilize as a precondition for changing their legal gender.
Let health status and behavior patterns be decisive for whether one can become a blood donor, not gender or sexual orientation.
Work for a ban on same-sex sex bans worldwide.
That the national professional guidelines for the treatment of transgender people are implemented, and that this includes a real and appropriate decentralization of the treatment to the regional centers for gender incongruence.
Open up for parental leave to be taken by more than the two legal parents.

Queer competence

LGBTQI + people who seek out or come into contact with the public sector in connection with their sexuality or gender expression are often in a vulnerable phase, and it is important for the Greens that they are met with competence and insight so that the public sector can contribute constructively and supportive.

Everyone who, by virtue of their position, comes into contact with queers must have knowledge of the topic. This means that we need an increase in the competence of nurses, teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers and caseworkers in NAV and the UDI.

We also believe that everyone who works with children must be educated in norm criticism. Educators must be aware of - and stimulate reflection on - gender roles and gender equality issues in daily life. Children and young people must learn about setting boundaries, cross-border behaviors and positive sexual relationships, but also gender roles, gender equality issues and the prevention of rape.

Global queer solidarity

Both gay, transgender people and other gender minorities are exposed to systematic discrimination in several countries. Everyone who needs a residence permit on the basis of sexual orientation / gender identity must be granted asylum, and LGBTQI + persons must be able to live safely, whether it is in a reception center or other form of settlement. We also want Norway to take a clearer role internationally vis-à-vis countries that oppress LGBTQI + people, and support queer rights in all countries in the world.

[Read more]

Spain: Verdes Equo

The EQUO LGTBI+ Network and the EQUO Joven Network choose to maintain the visibility of all women

Following the recent statement by the Feminist Party, in which trans people and the group of LGTBI+ people were accused of historical, social and economic violence against women in the world, the EQUO LGTBI+ Network and the EQUO Joven Network have prepared a joint text, to respond to their statements.

In recent times we are appreciating an increase in conflict and tension with the LGTBI+ collective, especially with TRANS people.

The communique of the Feminist Party represented by its president Lidia Falcón, issued a few days ago, had as its objective the accusation of trans people and the group of LGTBI + people, through assumptions and without facts or evidence, of the historical, social, and economic violence of women in the world, taking as a reference the sex-gender dissonance that the CIS-hetero-patriarchy has reproduced in society throughout history

As Red EQUO LGTBI+, and Red EQUO Joven we want to contribute our vision on what has been expressed:

1. There is a majority of heterosexual families that agree to the legalization of surrogacy

There is an indication towards the LGTBI collective, when the data is contrary. Most LGTBI families are by adoption, foster care, from previous hetero families, by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization . You just have to approach any LGTBI association and meet their families. The fact that some famous gay man has been a father has been linked to the "gay lobby" and the LGTBI collective as a promoter of its legalization.

2. Minors who declare themselves transsexual cannot proceed to medical and surgical treatments to change their sex and the bill defended by the RQLGTBI+ does not contemplate that this is the case

Trans people do not require therapy, that is, treatment for illness or dysfunction. Transsexuality is not a disease, a disorder or an anomaly, but is part of human diversity. Furthermore, science tells us that a person can never change their sex. When a boy or girl is born, they are assigned a gender - male or female - and when it does not coincide with her sex, there may be a transition towards the resignation of her gender imposed at her birth.

On the other hand, each person decides whether to carry out a surgical treatment or not. Not all people go to surgeries.

3. Queer discourse is not specific to the LGTBI+ collective

Queer is not specific to the LGTBI+ collective, but it is a large part of the collective. Let's remember that queer began as an insult, just like feminist or queer, and that they are now defined as political terms.

The queer discourse is about a post-identity movement: "queer" is a critical position that is attentive to the processes of exclusion and marginalization that all identity fiction generates. The "queer" movement is not a movement of homosexuals, but of gender and sexual dissidents who resist the norms imposed by the dominant cisheteropatriarchal society. And also a movement attentive to the processes of internal normalization and exclusion in "gay culture": marginalization of lesbian women, bisexual people, transsexual and transgender bodies, people of color and migrants, workers and sex workers,

4. We defend the visibility of women as a category

Feminism and LGTBI+ groups have walked together for many years and have supported many strategies, actions and thoughts. There have been disagreements throughout history, but it has been possible to unite in the face of adversity. Support for some rights does not seek or imply the loss of others.

The LGTBI+ collective does not intend for women to lose rights, it supports not only the rights of women, but also continues to support equality and the rights of women, especially those who are more vulnerable: women with functional diversity, racialized women , migrant women, believing and practicing women, women who suffer gender violence and women who suffer the exploitation of capitalist patriarchy. We all enrich ourselves and we learn from all of them, from those who are living history and from those who are young, from those who live in rural areas and from those who live in cities.

Transversality makes us strong because we are more, but it places us before the weakness of diversity. Only trust can lead us to continue believing that another inclusive moment is possible. Trans women are women and, therefore, political subjects. Queer theory does not seek to replace feminism. But new realities make us stop to reflect on how we organize ourselves, and the longer we delay, other far-right movements will become stronger, and we will suffer its consequences.

There are feminisms, and queer theory, that want to abolish gender. Other people from both groups choose to redefine traditional gender roles and walk towards equal gender roles. There are new ways we can go to continue building a feminist future.

The EQUO LGTBI+ Network and the EQUO Joven Network believe that minors must be listened to and respected, so we value the contribution of the minor under 8 years of age, in whom she identifies as a transsexual girl, in the Parliament of Estremadura.

The Euskadi Transsexuality Law states that the transsexual person will be governed by the right to free self-determination of sexual identity but does not indicate the age for their free and full exercise of the same. On the other hand, the text worked on in the Congress Commission does not speak of hormonal treatments for children under 4 years of age, nor are ages indicated. When the use of blockers is mentioned, reference is made to the moment of puberty development, that is, when the first signs of growth of the secondary sexual traits appear. The only thing that refers to minors is what has to do with the right to self-determination, which will be what allows the change of name and sex in the Civil Registry.

Regarding this, the Constitutional Court has ruled and has said that Law 3/2007 allows Trans people to opt for a change in registration. Therefore, when this Law excludes minors, it is unconstitutional. In addition, the text of the Law continues to require a psychiatric diagnosis of "Gender Dysphoria" and a second medical diagnosis is still needed to ensure that they are who they say they are. It should be remembered that no cisgender person needs a medical diagnosis to confirm their identity.

This process began with the approval of LGTBI laws and Trans laws in different Autonomous Communities. It was in 2017 when two drafts were registered in Congress: The Comprehensive Trans Law Proposal (PL), which did not go through parliament; and the Comprehensive Law for LGTBI rights - which included a comprehensive Trans law - which went through parliament and was worked on in the Commission. Therefore, the only worked draft was not approved, due to the difficulties and obstacles developed within the Work Commission of said Law.

Following this argument, the two transversal networks of EQUO signatories of this document consider that:

We think it is important to deal with the issues with knowledge of facts, plural and diverse experiences and from a scientific perspective, not only from the medical-biological field but also from the psychosocial and promoting that people themselves are active subjects and protagonists. of his own story. Minors and young people, as well as their families, are subjects of rights that, at least, must be heard and respected.
There is a need to differentiate the topics that are exposed so that they can be analyzed with greater rigor and can be understood in their own specificity. Not all topics are related and can cause confusion.
We recognize and support the History of Feminism that has been linked to the History of the LGTBI + collective. We value and are committed to raising awareness of the rights of women, of all women, and of the LGTBI collective. We want to sit down and find a way together, all of us, and listen to each other. Faced with ethical and citizen rights setback, fear is paralyzing and blocking us, and now we must walk. We urge the rapprochement to take place and to look for meeting points to make us stronger. Together, feminisms and the LGTBI+ collective, we will be, as we were, strong.

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Spain: Catalunya en Comú

[From the party program Horizon 2023, p. 57 - 58]

Block III - Tools for the future: feminism, empowerment, municipalism and multiculturalism

4.4. A feminism for all
In recent years a new global feminist movement is redrawing the political map. The 2016 Polish mobilizations to demand the decriminalization of abortion, the Argentine “Ni una menos” movement, the American “Me too” or the feminist strikes a Spain, Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Mexico, Chile and dozens of other countries.

A new tide claiming feminism in the service of social justice is reinventing forms of protest and politics. At the same time, this new wave has democratized the concept broadly broadening their field, above all, expanding the very idea of what is meant by “Work” and who counts as “worker”. Refusing to limit this category to wage labor and making visible the indispensable role of unpaid work; shouting attention to activities from which capital benefits but does not pay. Too targeting harassment, violence and sexual assault.

At the same time, this feminism recognizes that it must respond to a crisis of historical proportions: the collapse of living standards and the threat of disaster ecological; devastating wars and globalized extractivism; mass migrations received with barbed wire; racism and xenophobia, and loss of social and political rights earned with a lot of effort. From Catalunya en Comú we aspire to face all these challenges.

Inspired in these movements, our feminism, heir also to the feminist struggles for combating patriarchy, aims to address the roots of this socio-economic system. Advocates for the needs and rights of all: poor and working-class women, cis or trans, of the racialized and migrant, of the women who engage in prostitution and in a situation of trafficking, LGTBIQ people, unemployed or precarious women, young people, elderly or with functional diversity.

We aspire to a broad and supportive feminism that advocates for social transformation and is critical
with the existing patriarchal institutions of justice and transgress them, betting on its transformation, moving away from punitivist logics. A committed feminism with international human rights and non-discrimination standards, to seek full reparation and recovery of victims and to ensure guarantees of no
repetition.

A transformative and restorative feminist justice. A feminism that does not nullify people’s agency capacity, our decision-making power, and allows us to express ourselves freely. Our feminism is a diverse and plural feminism, a feminism for 99%, a feminism basic; popular, inclusive, anti-racist, a feminism that seeks a social transformation deep and far-reaching. And that proposes integral alternative models without exclusions, in all areas: from economics or ecology to the productive or welfare model.

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Sweden: Miljöpartiet de gröna

[Chapter in the Party program]

2.7 Equal rights

In order for all people to realise their dreams of a high quality of life, everyone must have equal opportunities. Every individual should be able to have the life, education and work he or she wants without being hindered by societal structures. Socio-economic background, gender and gender expression, sexual orientation, origin, disability or age should never be an obstacle to people's development. Therefore, work for equal rights and against discrimination must be mainstreamed in all areas of society. No one should be subjected to hate crimes or hate speech.

Regardless of the economic and social circumstances of their parents, all children must be given equal opportunities to develop. This means good childcare and schools accessible to all, as well as a tax and social policy that ensures a good upbringing for all children. We want to improve conditions for children currently living in poverty by giving their carers better opportunities to support their families.

The Green Party is a feminist party and has been since its inception. Our feminist policy has evolved from seeing women and men as two fixed categories that complement each other to seeing today the complexity of the social structures that lock people into restrictive, socially constructed gender norms.

We see that power orders such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, and age interact with the pervasive gender power order of society. We want to change this. The division into either female or male limits people who cannot or do not unequivocally identify as either. A third legal gender could be a way for transgender people to avoid being pushed into a two-sex model.

Narrow gender norms and gender inequality limit people's free life choices. This may be the case of women who, despite their good credentials, find it more difficult to pursue a career in academia or business, or men who are pressured into undesirable career paths by environmental expectations. We believe that all people should be able to choose the path in life that suits them without being limited by old ideas about what women and men should or can do. Unfair pay differentials should not exist and the status and pay of professions should not depend on gender patterns.

We see that restrictive gender roles, inequitable pay gaps and stereotypical parenting norms are linked. A tripartite parental insurance scheme, where one third of the days are earmarked for each carer and the rest can be freely distributed, is a way to break with old patterns and support men in taking a more active parenting role. Moreover, when men's take-up of parental leave increases, women's position in the labour market is strengthened. The part of parental insurance that can be freely distributed in a three-part model should also be possible to transfer to a third party who is part of the child's family.

Domestic violence should be dealt with in a swift, coordinated and consistent manner in cooperation between authorities and organisations. We want more men's shelters and women's shelters and better conditions for them. We also want to see support and protection for children and adults who have been subjected to psychological and physical violence, as well as professional treatment for the perpetrators of violence. Society's institutions must be prepared and have the tools to counter patriarchal violence and acts of violence carried out under the influence of notions of honour.

All discrimination must be combated. The whole of society - public authorities, employers, trade unions and the voluntary sector through, for example, anti-discrimination agencies - must be involved in the fight against discrimination. Strong legislation and a strong discrimination ombudsman are also needed. If society is to become more open, more effective work is needed against all forms of discrimination.

People are discriminated against because of their ethnicity, their name, or their accent. We want to combat this. Structural discrimination and racism must end.

Everyone who needs it must be offered high-quality Swedish language teaching. It must be possible to validate foreign education quickly and, if necessary, supplement it.

All people, regardless of disability or ability, must have equal rights, opportunities, and obligations. All individuals are different, and society should not be adapted only for those who are the norm. It is the inaccessibility of society that constitutes the real barrier to the free functioning and expression of people with disabilities. Lack of accessibility is a form of discrimination and must therefore become a new ground of discrimination.

Sweden has five national minorities: the Sami, the Roma, the Jews, the Swedish Finns and the Tornedalians. Their special position, with their own culture and language, must be respected and strengthened. The Sami are an indigenous people who, in accordance with several international conventions, have special rights which Sweden must guarantee. Sweden should ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO 169, as soon as possible. Sweden must work for human rights nationally and internationally.

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Switzerland: Grüne/Les Verts

LGBTIQ+

Equality and non-discrimination are enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Nevertheless, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans people, intersex and queer people (LGBTIQ+) in Switzerland have to struggle with discrimination in everyday life
The legal and actual equality of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans people, intersex and queer people (LGBTIQ+) is a core concern of us GREENS - and has been since the founding of the party.
We GREENS are committed to marriage for all, equal parenting rights for homosexual couples, consistent protection against discrimination and raising public awareness of different life models.

[Read more]

Other useful resources: https://gruene.ch/gesellschaft/netzwerk-green-lgbtiq

The UK: Green Party of England and Wales

[From the political program – End Discrimination chapter]

Tackling misogyny: We will take immediate action to deliver real gender equality and to tackle violence against women and girls. We will make misogyny a hate crime and make it easier to challenge media sexism. We will fiercely protect and enhance women’s rights - protecting long-term funding for Rape Crisis centres, decriminalising abortion procedures across the entire UK and making it illegal to stop nursing mothers feeding their babies in a public place. We recognise that the current economic system is patriarchal and commit to dismantling it, starting with a requirement for at least 40% of all members of public sector boards to be women. We will provide free sanitary products in schools.

Fighting for the LGBTIQA+ community: There is still so much to fight for to tackle the legal, political and social discriminations facing LGBTIQA+ people. W e will immediately remove pension inequality for same-sex couples who are married or civil partners. LGBTIQA+ rights are fundamental human rights and must be protected as such.

Improving trans rights: Trans people are subject to ingrained prejudice; at school, in work, in society and in the media. The Green Party affirms that trans men are men, trans women are women and that non-binary genders exist and are valid. We will tackle prejudice against trans people, strengthening hate crime legislation and improving public education on the issue. We will take practical steps to make life easier for trans people, updating the Gender Recognition Act to allow trans youth and non-binary people to get legal recognition through self-declaration and enabling a x gender marker to be added to passports. We will legislate to ensure that young people get access to objective, evidence based information about gender and gender treatment, as well as full access to related medical services.

Read the original here: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/images/national-site/political-programme-web-v1.3.pdf

Other useful sources:

LGBTIQA+ Greens Policy Guide:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PVGWy3MJkbj4ilCC9s4oABCaep6oN_H8/view
LGBTIQA+ Greens Code of Conduct:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OScEbNPtHR2aGOp7feGZdeHcwWJGlesd/view
LGBTIQA+ Greens 'Why trans liberation is critical for all liberation':https://lgbtiqa.greenparty.org.uk/2022/02/28/why-trans-liberation-is-critical-for-all-liberation/
Let's Talk Gender Webinar: What an Inclusive Future Looks Like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a51KuexniaA

The UK: Scottish Green Party

Why We Must Support Trans and Non-Binary People’s Rights

As members of the Scottish Green Party Women’s Network, Rainbow Greens and Young Greens, we have been deeply saddened over the last year to see the things that have been said and done in the name of women’s rights, which have marginalised, stigmatised and denied legitimacy to our trans and non-binary siblings. Particularly so as our trans and non-binary siblings have stood shoulder to shoulder with us, campaigning for gender, social and environmental justice. We are richer, more caring and more inclusive in our policies thanks to our trans and non-binary members.

As members of the Scottish Greens party’s representative groups, we want to reaffirm our commitment to being a trans-inclusive party. Scottish Greens have operated Women’s Network and gender quotas for internal and external positions, on the basis of self-ID for years. With no problems. We will continue to do so. For our next Holyrood election, we will select more women than ever before and we are committed to supporting under-represented groups of people. Trans and non-binary people are particularly under-represented, with no elected reps in Scotland who are openly trans, and only one non-binary councillor. It would help the debate greatly if we were able to support our trans and non-binary members to stand for election – understandably a tough ask in the current climate.

Last year at conference, members overwhelmingly passed a motion which was written by Rainbow Greens and supported by members of Women’s Network to help reassure our trans members that they should feel wanted, valid and respected within the party and society. This doesn’t mean that we intend to throw members out who slip up or aren’t aware of the need for inclusion! It is a commitment to help people learn about inclusion needs and use of language, and to help members to understand where language and ideas are rooted in trans-exclusionary views, such as ‘sex-based rights’ being used to exclude trans people from being respected as who they are. To our trans and non-binary siblings, we would like to reaffirm that we will, and do, debate many things within the Green party, but we will not debate your right to exist. We will work to build a more inclusive and understanding party.

We also express solidarity with women’s and feminist organisations who do excellent work such as Rape Crisis, Engender, Women’s Aid and the Glasgow Women’s Library who have been the subject of threats, harassment and abuse because they operate in a trans-inclusive way. It has also been upsetting to see existing theory and language being used to refute people’s lived, bodily experiences; to see the abuse and simplification of the terms science and biology without appreciation of the nuance that is necessary when dealing with the subject beyond the cellular level. Being trans, like being gay or bisexual, isn’t a choice – it is the way you are. We are more than the sum of our anatomy and hormones. Definitions are blurry, but that is absolutely scientific. It is the job of science, language and theory is to explain what exists, not deny what is apparently factual. Tweeted, simplistic definitions of sex and gender don’t account for this. They invalidate our trans and non-binary siblings, are deeply damaging to their wellbeing and cause an already marginalised community to be stigmatised and made to feel unsafe.

We believe the online discourse around trans and non-binary rights and the language being used is toxic and harmful. It has led to incidents at facilities like changing rooms and toilets, where women, both cis and trans, have been verbally abused or attacked trying to use the right facilities while not conforming to cultural feminine ‘norms’. Online, the ‘debate’ often seems to involve sharing pictures of trans women and judging their appearance as too masculine, normally when they are choosing not to conform to patriarchal standards of beauty.

This is a ‘debate’ where one side is harmfully trying to repress the rights of another. This has happened many times in our recent history, whether it was when racist people tried to prevent de-segregation by saying white women would catch syphilis from black women using their toilets, or when homophobic people tried to prevent gay people from teaching by saying they were a danger to children. These people were always on the wrong side of history, but they did manage to delay a marginalised group from gaining much needed rights.

We will continue to fight against the patriarchy and capitalism and stick firmly to our principles of intersectional feminism, challenging abuses of power where we see it. We will work hard to educate on trans inclusion, helping to identify transphobia and to call it out. We will campaign for international best practice on gender recognition. Many of the current problems come with the old system and poor understanding of what the legislation is actually about. It is of fundamental importance that the new system must include a non-binary gender category, and lower the age a person can apply to 16, and we will campaign for this. We will win this campaign because, fundamentally, trans and non-binary people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

[Read more]

Other useful sources:

SG Women's pledge: https://greens.scot/womens-pledge
SG manifesto - Equality: https://greens.scot/ourfuture/equalities

Federation of Young European Greens

A Diverse and Feminist Europe

FYEG fights for intersectional (see Glossary 91) feminism (see Glossary 63), a feminism that is anti-racist, anti-fascist, and draws from the queer (see Glossary 138) and disability rights movements. A feminism that recognises diversity and the different ways in which privilege (see Glossary 185) and oppression (see Glossary 114) manifest in society.

Our feminism is not just about smashing the patriarchy (see Glossary 123), but about smashing all systems of oppression. We are against societies that only feed the dominant power. We push for an alternative model based on justice and equity for those devalued by systems of oppression, one that actively undermines the dominant power.

Systems of oppression seek to divide us, control us, and harm everyone in society. We will not let them. We fight any kind of discrimination or hate crime on the basis of real or assumed nationality, race, ethnicity, religion or beliefs, gender and sexual identity, ideology, disability, class, or age. We recognise the difference and diversity among people and societies in Europe, and see this as a richness. We advocate for policies created with people who experience discrimination and support affirmative action for underrepresented groups.

We demand anti-discrimination laws. Federation of young European greens Governments must take measures to ensure the safety and health of marginalized groups. As we work for a Europe which is truly welcoming and inclusive for all, we take a twofold approach. First, we work for social justice (see Glossary 155) and equality now – within the limits of the current norms, within the systems that constrain us – while recognising that this can never be social justice for everyone and that, in this way, only small gains are made.

Second, we question the systems, we think them anew, in order to break free from the norms and boundaries that constrain us. Systems of oppression are a social construct and can therefore be deconstructed, with the help of collective action and organising. We can imagine and give life to new systems that work for all. We question human-made borders, the arbitrariness of passports and permits, and the dichotomy of binary gender (see Glossary 38).

Gender

FYEG works towards a world in which people can thrive and know it is safe to be themselves, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics. Gender-based violence (see Glossary 72) is a brutal violation of human rights. It affects people of all social and economic backgrounds across Europe. Women of colour, women with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ (see Glossary 100) women, migrant women, and poor and working-class women are most likely to be at risk and face the biggest obstacles to getting help.

The historical, systemic exclusion of marginalised genders at all levels of political decision making, from local to European institutions, finally needs to stop. Different mechanisms, including quotas, can help to correct this, and ensure the proportional representation of all gender identities in assemblies at all levels of government in Europe. Our long-term aspiration is a fluid world. We recognise that labels, while helping us to identify how to fight for rights and justice in a system built against us, cannot represent the spectrum of identities and expressions we embody.

Our short-term task is to work for LGBTQIA+ rights, to work for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), to fight against gender-based violence, and to continue to advocate for gender equality at all levels of society – at home, in the workplace, in politics, etc. We work towards a world in which every person has the right to live freely according to their gender identity and gender expression,and the right to self-determination (see Glossary 148) and bodily autonomy (see Glossary 12).

1. Sexual and reproductive health and rights, combatting discrimination and gender-based violence.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights should be part of all educational curricula and should be effectively implemented in all schools. The sexual education curriculum should be non-judgemental, sex positive, consent-focused, and comprehensive enough to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics. More funding and research should be allocated to sexual education and reproductive healthcare.

We demand free, accessible, good quality, and safe sexual and reproductive healthcare and services for all. Healthcare should be based on human rights, bodily autonomy, and informed consent (see Glossary 89) for all, especially the most vulnerable groups, such as trans people (see Glossary 166), people with disabilities, people without papers, and migrants. Additionally, 5 Federation of young european greens there must be appropriate funding for gender specific medical research since women, trans (see Glossary 166) and gender non-conforming persons usually don’t exist in medical research at all or only as pathologised objects. This must change.

Free and accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare should include accessible and free contraception for all, as well as medically-assisted procreation (see Glossary 103). There will also be more money for research into new forms of contraception, such as the male pill. Pink tax discrimination (see Glossary 126) should end. Menstrual products should be cost-free and freely accessible everywhere, including schools, universities, and public toilets. Wherever there is free toilet paper there should be free menstrual products.

Gender-neutral toilets will be realized in all publicly accessible buildings and for employees. In large buildings, there will be at least one toilet on each floor that is accessible to everyone. Toilet shortages shouldn’t be a problem for anyone. Each year thousands of people die because of the criminalisation of and lack of access to abortion. Banning abortion only causes greater harm to those who seek it, who then undergo serious health, legal, and financial risks to have an abortion illegally. We condemn all attempts to restrict access to abortion.

We advocate for free, accessible, non-judgemental, good quality, safe, legal, and local abortion. The right to abortion must be included in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights (see Glossary 50). Certain countries require trans people wishing to access legal gender recognition procedures to undergo forced sterilisation. This violates their dignity and right to bodily autonomy and must be banned. Non-consensual surgeries on intersex people (see Glossary 92) should also be outlawed. States must ban all dehumanising practices and offer reparations to all trans and intersex people who have been forced to renounce their bodily autonomy in this way.

The stigmatisation of HIV (see Glossary 83) must end. HIV treatment is highly effective in reducing the transmission of HIV and people with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV. Legal discrimination against people with HIV must stop. More funds should be allocated to education and raising awareness on HIV and HIV prevention, as well as to research and treatment. HIV treatment, HIV prevention, and testing for HIV should be free and universally accessible. Women and girls (cis and trans) are often exposed to serious forms of physical violence including domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape.

We demand the legal definition of rape to respect individual self-determination. Today, rape is generally defined as sexual intercourse with a person by forcible compulsion; sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated; or sexual intercourse with an underage person. We demand for it to be defined by lack of consent, not by the threat of violence. All European countries must implement the Istanbul Convention (see Glossary 94).

The Convention sets out measures to address all forms of violence against women, recognising this violence as a human rights violation and a form of discrimination. Countries need to provide clear and concise information for victims in a language they understand, accessible and inclusive shelters, and telephone hotlines. We acknowledge the gender-based discrimination of women in the labour market, including the underpayment of historically female-dominated occupations. We therefore demand equal pay for equally valuable work and an end to discrimination based on pregnancy and parenthood.

2. LGBTQIA+ rights Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, and asexual rights are still under attack in our patriarchal, capitalist system.

Even today, conservative governments are trying to take away the hard-earned freedoms and rights of LGBTQIA+ people. Homophobia (see Glossary 81) and 6 Federation of young european greens transphobia (see Glossary 167) can fuel hate speech and hate crime and should be criminalised. Every person should have the right to live according to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression freely and without fear. So-called “conversion therapy” (see Glossary 28) is dehumanising and must be banned and prosecuted immediately.

The relationships of same- and opposite-sex couples and their families should enjoy equal recognition. All couples have a right to family life. This includes the right to adoption and foster care, the right for all people with a uterus to have access to medically assisted procreation (see Glossary 103), and the right of equal access to sperm donation, regardless of their sexual orientation, health or relationship status. IVF treatments should be equally reimbursable to all couples. Marriages and civil unions must be open to all couples, and those recognised in one European country must also be and automatically fully recognised in all others.

Trans women are women, trans men are men, being non-binary is valid, and trans rights are human rights. Mandatory mental health assessments violate trans people’s dignity and right to self-determination and should be banned.

We demand legal gender recognition procedures for all genders and none, and the right to change names in an auto-declarative and unconditional manner. These procedures should be quick, transparent, accessible, free, based solely on individual self-determination, and without age restrictions. Additionally, we call for the removal of all sex markers in identity documents, including passports

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