COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONSIDERS REPORT OF GERMANY

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women today considered the sixth periodic report of Germany on how that country implements the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Introducing the report, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, Head of the Department of Equality Policy at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany, said that this year marked an important anniversary in terms of equality policy in Germany as 90 years ago, women had been allowed to vote and be elected for the first time. She also outlined the current impact of the global financial crisis on equality policy saying its impact throughout the world could already be felt in the real economy as unemployment was arising. In Germany, it still appeared to be affecting in majority males only. Hence women were becoming, not by choice, the breadwinners in the family. Turning to the value of the Convention in Germany, she said that it was not widely known in Germany. To counter this, a new brochure on the Convention had been designed by the Ministry. She was pleased that various women’s human rights and other non-governmental organizations were increasingly discovering the Convention as a yardstick against which the work of the Federal Government could be measured.

Among questions and issues raised by Committee Experts were the issue of the rights of transsexual and intersexual women, the situation of girls in prisons, the antagonism between family polices and equality policies being implemented by the Federal Government, and the situation of asylum seeking girls and women. Other issues also included the representation of women in government and in the private industry, measures to address vertical segregation, the stereotypes affecting men and women, sexual violence, trafficking and prostitution.

In concluding remarks, Naela Gabr, Chairperson of the Committee, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue and the excellent report and for their promises regarding a lot of planned achievements, such as the number of women in leading positions at all levels. Further the Committee would be able to benefit from a number of excellent planned studies in Germany, such as those on stereotypes, early marriages and on transsexual cases. Also positive were the measures undertaken for a better protection for asylum seeking women. Finally, the Committee hoped that the State party would intensify its cooperation with non-governmental organizations.

The delegation of Germany also included representatives of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations Office at Geneva; the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth; the Federal Ministry of the Interior; the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Health.

The next meeting of the Committee will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 3 February, when it is scheduled to take up the sixth periodic report of Guatemala (CEDAW/C/GUA/7).


Report of Germany

The sixth periodic report of Germany (CEDAW/C/DEU/6) says that in terms of equal opportunities policy, the gender-specific distribution of labour within the family and in the workplace represents an ongoing challenge. It is the cause of many types of unequal treatment: women are far less frequently found in decision-making positions in politics, voluntary organizations and the working world. Their incomes are much lower than those of men; hence their level of social security is also lower. This is, not lastly, a result of the fact that women are still assigned the main responsibility for family work, while men are seen as responsible for the financial support of the family. It is the federal government’s goal to ensure that both men and women are able to engage in work that will allow them to earn a livelihood and provide them with social security.

In order to lobby effectively for the benefit of women affected by violence, to ensure a better and more rapid relay of information, and to target the employment of resources more strategically, it is better to integrate the various sources of aid into a national network, notes the report. The federal government therefore supports the integration of aid agencies in national networks both in terms of information and funding. Hence, agencies working to establish a network of women’s shelters, women’s counselling agencies and women’s crisis telephone centres, as well as counseling centres to help combat trafficking in women, and violence in the migration process are supported by the federal government. Recognition of the fact that violence against women can be more effectively combated when representatives of the different governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with the phenomenon work together, has led to the development of intervention projects aimed at combating domestic violence in Germany.

The report also notes that an amendment to the Criminal Code now provides “stalking” victims with better protection and has closed loopholes in the definition of punishable acts. “Stalking” is defined as the continued pursuit and harassment of victims, most – but not all – of whom are female. These actions often lead to considerable psychological and physical injury on the part of the victims and can force them to change the way they live. One of the laws now covering acts defined as “stalking” is the Violence Protection Act, which came into force on 1 January 2002. This law enables civil courts to hand down injunctions against contact, all forms of approach, and harassment as a measure to protect a victim against anyone who harasses them in an unacceptable manner by continuing to stalk the victim against their expressly declared will, or to persecute them by means of telecommunications. If a stalker infringes upon such an order, he or she can be prosecuted and sentenced to a fine, or to imprisonment of up to a year.

Presentation of Report

KONRAD MAX SCHARINGER, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that Germany had consistently supported the work of the Committee and would continue to collaborate with it. He noted that today was a special day for Germany, as it was also undergoing consideration in the Universal Periodic Review. They were looking forward to an intensive dialogue.

EVA MARIA WELSKOP-DEFFAA, Head of the Department of Equality Policy at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany, said that in 2009, CEDAW would celebrate its thirtieth birthday. This year also marked an important anniversary in terms of equality policy as 90 years ago, women in Germany had been allowed to vote and be elected for the first. Nine percent of the representatives at that time had been women, a record that had not been broken until the 1950s. It was worthwhile to remember milestones in women’s history. They marked the aspirations and criteria for what they were now actively striving to attain and enforce women’s rights.

The current sixth periodic report had been submitted by the Federal Government in 2007. Ms. Welskop-Deffaa outlined the situation and new developments since the submission of the report. But an event that would affect equality policy in ways none could really anticipate yet had arisen: the global financial crisis. Its impact throughout the world could already be felt in the real economy as unemployment was arising. In Germany, the crisis still appeared to be affecting in majority males only. Hence women were becoming, not by choice, the breadwinners in the family. Their earnings suddenly represented an essential source of the family’s income.

Turning to the value of the CEDAW Convention in Germany, Ms. Welskop-Deffaa said that it was not widely known in Germany. Even among active members of large women’s organizations one found that making references to the Convention in a speech would trigger a puzzled reaction. This was an experience that had caused her concern ever since she began working with the Ministry three years ago. To counter this, a new brochure on the Convention had been designed by the Ministry, with the help of former CEDAW Committee member and German national Dr. Schoepp Schilling. She was pleased that various women’s human rights and other non-governmental organizations were increasingly discovering the Convention as a yardstick against which the work of the Federal Government could be measured.

Germany greatly recognized the importance of alternative reports by non-governmental organizations, also for their own process of reflection on their work. Impulses and initiatives from civil society were of the utmost importance in creating a society fit for the future and the Federal Government supported their work. They would continue to have constructive dialogue with representatives of non-governmental organizations in order to address their questions and suggestions and to discuss different standpoints, said Ms. Welskop-Deffaa. The recommendations made by the Committee in 2004 had also provided diverse stimuli for the formulation of policy.

With regard to overcoming gender stereotypes, it was possible, since the end of the reporting period, to speak of an astonishing success story. The introduction of parental allowances in place of child-raising allowances had resulted in a decisive paradigm shift. Raising and caring for small children was no longer automatically exclusively the task of the mother. Ms. Welskop-Deffaa noted that her Ministry had made great efforts to overcome beliefs in gender-specific stereotypes. Civilian service which was performed by young men as an alternative to the military clearly appeared to have a positive effect on their socialization in terms of equality.

On political and public life, Ms. Welskop-Deffaa noted that in 1998, Germany had crossed the critical threshold of a 30 percent share of women in the German Bundestag. On the municipal level, the situation was however different, with 25 percent of women elected to municipal representative bodies. Equal participation of women in working life had also been focused on as a high priority topic in their efforts to advance equality in recent years. With a rate of female employment of 64 per cent, they had exceeded the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy. But women in Germany still earned 23 per cent less on average than their male colleagues. The Federal Government had given greater consideration to the topic of pay inequality in recent years.

Concerning violence against women, the goal of overcoming it continued to be accorded high priority and the Government had ratified an action plan to combat it. Measures to protect migrant women against violence were to be enhanced, as well as the special problems of disabled women. Ms. Welskop-Deffaa noted that forced marriage had also been an important topic in recent months. Since mid-2007 her Ministry had supported online counseling services for those who were affected or threatened by forced marriage.

Questions by Experts

Taking up articles one to four of the Convention, Experts raised a number of questions and issues. One Expert said that, as was said during the country representation, shadow reports were important. But the Committee had received a lot of reports stemming from intersexual women organizations and it seemed that they had not received any responses by the Government, why was it so? Regarding the issues of intersexuality and transsexuality, these needed further attention from the German Government. Persons with intersex conditions should not be forced into a category, without prior informed consent.

One Expert noted that the Federal Government had a policy to create equality for both sexes. Family policy was also a central activity of the Government. Those two statements could be seen as contrary, if one took into account what a traditional European family meant. How did the Government intend to include equality policy into its family policy?

Another Expert underscored that the report was silent about the situation and conditions of girls in prison and said that the Committee had received alternative reports and was very concerned about the number of girls that were being held in adult prisons. Holding girls in adult prisons violated the convention. According to alternative information, these girls were experiencing a lot of violence. Imprisoned girls were also reportedly being punished for behaving like normal adolescent girls. What efforts had been taken by the Government to lower the number of imprisoned girls? Did the Government plan to develop alternatives to imprisonment for juveniles?

On asylum seekers, one Expert expressed concerns over the fact that women asylum seekers, when faced with domestic violence, were not allowed to move to another area or location; this could keep women at risk. Could the delegation also give more details about the differences in asylum center management policies in the different States? What monitoring system was there in place to make sure that women in asylum seeking centers were receiving adequate protection?

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, the delegation said that family policy and equality policy had been long regarded as antagonistic, but they had made great progress and had managed to overcome this antagonism. There were parental policies, such as measures for fathers taking parental leave. These were two sides of the same coin.

On the subject of transsexual people, the delegation said that they had come to see that this was a subject that had gained a lot of public attention in the last years in Germany. Articles on transsexuality in newspapers showed that transsexuals were no longer seen as abnormal, as had been the case only a few years ago. It had taken time to recognize the special features of this group of people and the delegation felt that the situation was now better. Also, the Act on transsexuals, which regulated the change of name and status and which came under the competence of the Ministry of Interior, was to be amended this year as there were issues that had been raised. The Ministry of Interior was in contact with the different advocacy groups and they were taking up work for an amendment. This was a very complex issue and it required very careful scrutiny.

Regarding the legal binding nature of the Convention, the delegation noted that many thought that it was represented by German law, but not all parts were being mirrored in it. International treaties did not count that much in German courts; however in certain cases the Convention had played a role in judicial proceedings. Regarding the Federal System, states had to implement the Convention and they had not noticed any policies going against it. Also if it was the case, the Federal Government could act on it.

Concerning the situation of girls in detention centers, the delegation said that they could not provide an adequate answer, as they had not received enough information from the relevant Ministry. On the fact that the Ministry had not answered to letters by non-governmental organizations, they would have to look into that matter more deeply and could not give an answer for the moment. On the management policies of asylum seeking centers, the situation changed from one state to the other, but they were discussing the issue of domestic violence in a state coordination working group.

Questions by Experts

In further questions, Experts noted that there was certain progress in the representation of women and there had been a significant increase in academia and diplomatic services, but vertical segregation was still prevalent in the State party. How did the Federal Government plan to address this issue? Also, how was the State Party protecting women in the private sector?

With regards to stereotypes, one Expert said that the Committee had referred to this matter previously and the report showed that serious work had been undertaken in this regard. An increase in parental leave had been noted, nevertheless, most of these were for fathers taking two-month leave periods, because they still feared to be looked at in a negative way. Also, what would be the influence of the impact of the financial crisis on women and would it impact the matter of part-time work for men? The measures against stereotypes taken by the State seemed to be partial; did the State party plan to implement a comprehensive strategy? Also there were stereotypes against asylum seeking women, impacting their integration into German society.

Concerning sexual violence between strangers, one Expert felt that this issue was receiving less and less attention by the Federal Government. An action plan for protection of children and younger women had been adopted in 2002 but no meetings had taken place since 2007. Also, how was the State party planning to train specialists who had to deal with victims of sexual violence? Concerning violence against women, it was clear that a lot had been done, such as through the implementation of stalking laws. But, the Committee had received information that visitation rights by abusive fathers were being accorded by courts without further examination of the cases.

Concerning trafficking, victims of violence and different kinds of sexual violence, did the states provide enough resources to address these issues in the different asylum centers? Turning to the impact of the Convention on the situation abroad, especially the German troops stationed in Macedonia and Kosovo, one Expert said that reports showed that they had been involved in incidents of forced prostitution; could the delegation say more about this? Also, the State party did not seem to have an action plan to implement Security Council Resolution 1325, related to the role of women in armed conflicts and post conflicts. What was the reason for the non-action in this regard?

Response by Delegation

On Security Council Resolution 1325, the delegation said that they had had close contact with their Dutch colleagues, who had acted on the Resolution and they were confident that in 2009 they would take the Dutch example as a yardstick for future work. Concerning the German troops abroad, the delegation noted that every four months soldiers in peace mission were being exchanged and they had to meet the challenge that the women in these countries had a very different culture.

Regarding women in leadership positions in Germany, the delegation noted that during the past months they had done a thorough investigation on what the situation was like for women in leadership positions. In the political sphere, many women were represented; this was due to the quota regulations prevalent in the parliament and in the political parties. In the private economy however, compared to international figures of women in leadership positions, Germany was in the middle field. A major issue of concern was however the number of women in leadership positions in the public administration, these were quite low compared to other European countries.

The delegation underscored that there were a number of available special measures to address this issue, apart from using quotas. Many men were making use of parental leave and taking part time work. Thus the traditional view that part time work was particularly a women’s thing was changing. Quotas were present in several sectors ranging from the Federal Government to radio broadcast stations. But the situation of representation of women changed from one sector to another and also in managerial post levels. In all sectors where women were underrepresented, there was a law that allowed employers to state in a job advertisement that applications from women were welcome. Measures to increase representation of women in university posts had also been implemented. Concerning gender stereotypes, they had adopted a comprehensive strategy to address the gender stereotypes, not only of women but also those of men.

Concerning trafficking of women and forced prostitution, the delegation said that they were collecting a lot of information and that they had conducted a survey on the question in collaboration with the German Federal Criminal Office. They had less information however on the trafficking of women for labour purposes, as it was something new. This was being covered by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. A similar survey and data collection procedure as the one that had been undertaken on prostitution was planned by that Ministry. Victims of trafficking could stay in Germany to regulate their situation before leaving for another country. They were not simply being expelled. Victims of trafficking were given specialized support and counseling.

On prostitution, the delegation noted that they would have a model programme called “Exit from Prostitution” launched this year. There were however currently no laws yet in Germany, such as in Sweden, on the punishment of customers of forced prostitutes. Residence permits for victims of trafficking were issued and victims were free of any other eligibility criteria, such as the need to show that they could earn their own living. Also the illegal entry into the country was disregarded.

Questions by Experts

In additional questions, Experts commended the advances made with regard to the equal participation of women in the top federal representation, in the political and public life which had increased over the last year, notwithstanding mention of the first appointment of a woman as Chancellor. However, at the same time there were problems of representation at the level of the states and municipalities. Also how many women ambassadors had been appointed in the foreign office? On the use of part time work, one Expert noted that it was not always applicable to women working in leading positions, which required hard work.

Another Expert addressed the issue of under-representation of girls in vocational training and horizontal segregation as well as the fact that women were primary clustered in jobs that were seen as jobs for women. What had been the impact and effectiveness of the State’s strategy in increasing the proportion of women in vocational training? Another issue was also the under-representation of women at the professorial level in German universities. What measures were being undertaken to ensure gender sensitive career guidance and equal opportunities in job centers? What measures were planned to address the horizontal and vertical segregations, which were closely linked to the pay gap?

Concerning part time work, an Expert noted that a disproportionately high number of women were working in part time jobs. While it was true that they used it for family purposes, it was often not a free choice by the women. Another Expert wondered about the participation of women on the European level, as figures showed a low participation, what had the State done and intended to do to counter this.

An Expert said that the Government had made a lot of progress on the area of health access for women, but regretted that the report did not include information of women in asylum seekers centers and the level of healthcare they were receiving. On abortions, could the delegation give more information with regard to data based on different ethnic groups? Concerning reproductive health and contraceptive measures, was the service affordable or very expensive?

One Expert noted that the State party had done a lot on the need to change stereotypes and gender roles, but on the other side certain measures seemed to reinforce gender-stereotyping. For example, with the tax system, married couples had the choice of choosing a tax class, according to which partner earned the most. This measure had a very negative effect on women employment and on the encouragement of part time employment. Was the State planning to change this system?

Other information received by the Committee showed that the Government had changed the post divorce maintenance law, which demanded that women in the workforce would be eligible for maintenance until the children would reach the age of three. Taking into consideration the information of wage-gaps and the segregation in the workplace, as well as the fact that childcare facilities were not meeting specific demands such as full day care, this new measure seemed to pose problems.

Turning to registered partnerships, one Expert noted that there was a move in the State party to equalize the rights of registered partnership with formalized marriages. Did this move also include taxes, parent-children relationships, fertilization treatments, adoption options and were these also equally available for same-sex partnerships?

Response by Delegation

Responding to the questions, the delegation said, on part time employment and its impact on the access of high level posts, that they could not confirm this information, but several cases of women having worked part time and which were now on high level posts in the Government were known and some of the women in the delegation had also done so and thus it showed that it was possible.

Concerning the labour market, the delegation said that studies had shown that that companies that had organized so called “girls-days” had changed their entrepreneurial manner of dealing with women, as girls attending these events were asking very critical questions. Also there were programmes for encouraging women to go into mathematical and scientific careers.

Turning to abortion, the delegation said that Germany had a very low teenage abortion rate and they were a best practice example. The situation had improved very much in the past years and this was due to various measures they had undertaken. On the questions about the tax system, the delegation said that Germany had a very complex tax system but starting 1 January 2009 they had introduced changes with regard to tax classes. The new legislative measures made it possible for married partners to use the same tax class.

On the female representation at the state level of states, the delegation said that the state with the lowest representation of women had a percentage of 22.2 percent and the state with maximum representation had 45 per cent. But the municipal level was more problematic and they had set up a specific programme to encourage women into municipal careers. The foreign office on its side was very much committed in increasing its number of women and was taking this issue very seriously.

Concerning victims of mistreatment and abuses, the delegation said that victims had access to all forms of healthcare. The problem was rather that victims of violence did often not mention that they had been victims of domestic violence or maltreatment to health personnel. With regards to visiting rights of fathers and violent fathers, it clearly fell in two distinctive courts, one being the violence protection law court and the other the visiting law court and they needed to take a closer look at this issue.

On education, migrants with a solid resident status had access to equal opportunities. Children of asylum seekers with temporary resident status also had the right to go to school. Concerning the mandatory language proficiency test for integration in Germany, the delegation said that being able to speak German made it easier to integrate into German society. This measure also served to prevent forced marriages as women who had basic knowledge of the country were more independent than those who did not.

Concerning the situation of women on the labour market and the occupational choices of girls, they had reoriented the labour market policy, in order to counter the gender based segregation on the labour market. In 2001 they had introduced a part time employment law, which had resulted in an increase of part times workers; many women were working part time, for them it was an issue of work-life balance. On the family policy versus equality, the delegation saw no contradiction between those two measures. Family policy was merely promoting better conditions for children and encouraging families to have children. Family policies were thus helping to improve family income.

Concerning partnerships, the delegation said that in almost all legal fields there was more or less equality with married couples. In inheritance laws, with some exceptions, partners were treated like marriages. The same was true for maintenance laws. Registered partners had thus quite the same rights as married couples. On the topic of adoption, only one partner was allowed to adopt, unlike with married partners. Joint adoption was possible, according to the European Convention on Adoption, only for married couples, but a ratification was being planned for non-married partners. Further, the Federal Department of Justice was currently doing a survey on the issue of children in same sex partnerships, and would soon publish a report on that issue.

Questions by Experts

In follow-up questions, Experts said on the debate on gender-equality, was this theme being discussed in society, in the media? Was this notion integrated in the current economic recovery plans? One Expert asked for clarification, whether the Convention applied directly to the German jurisdiction or if it had to be made applicable through the passing of various laws? How was it applied into national law? Did the guarantee of equality apply to non-State actors? Concerning the anti-discrimination office, an Expert asked whether it was working well and if it had enough financing to function well?

On the equality plans, an Expert noted that according to the federal equality act, each ministry was obliged to adopt such an action plan. Had all ministries adopted such an action plan and what happened if one had not done so? Also, what was the number of women ambassadors in the Foreign Service? What was the number of leading women in the private sector and the number of women workers in leading positions with a migrant background?

Response by the Delegation

In their responses the delegation said, that Germany did not plan an equality act for the private sector as part of the global governance code, in reaction to the financial crisis. This code combined both written and non-written law. However, the financial crises had shown that more women became the breadwinners, and thus these women had to be protected against low income. A brochure had also been published on the issue of pay equality. Concerning women in managerial positions in the federal state, they were currently working on an “equality map” which would be published this coming March 2009.


Turning to the legal value of the Convention, the delegation said that it had been directly applicable into German law since its ratification. But the Convention had different articles, some were judicial and others pointed to more political measures and thus they had to conduct a legal assessment of these measures.

Concerning the equal treatment act and dismissals, the delegation noted that a discussion was going on at the level of the European Union Commission and they were waiting for its outcome. Concerning the anti-discrimination office, the delegation said that its budget was up to 3 million Euros for 2009 and that it had about 20 staff members. Concerning girls in prison, a study had been undertaken on delinquency and women and a conference was also planned on the same subject.

Concluding Remarks

NAELA GABR, Chairperson of the Committee, in concluding remarks, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue and the excellent report and for their promises regarding a lot of planned achievements, such as the number of women in leading positions at all levels. Further the Committee would be able to benefit from a number of excellent planned studies in Germany, such as those on stereotypes, early marriages and on transsexual cases. Also positive were the measures undertaken for a better protection for asylum seeking women. Finally, the Committee hoped that the State party would intensify its cooperation with non-governmental organizations.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CEDAW09010E