[ Deutsche Version ]

Trans people are especially vulnerable on demonstrations. The following text will address some preliminary considerations you can make if you are trans (masculine) and want to go to demonstrations.

There will be mentions and descriptions of transphobic hostility and police violence in the text. The first part is mostly about binding and the second part is about confrontation with cops, (action) names, raids and stuff after the demonstratiom/action.

Binding

When you bind: Consider which binding method lets you breathe best. If you can’t breathe well with any, but insist on binding, you should limit your actions. For example, if you are in serious respiratory distress with binding a) your binder will be cut open as first aid to help you breathe better (which is important!), but you can decide for yourself how comfortable you find the idea b) it will be noticeable on your body that you have been binding. This means that breathing difficulties are deliberately self-inflicted, which means that the insurance won’t cover the costs. You should know this from sports in general. However, in demo situations you won’t always be able to disappear for breath breaks like in the gym, and the police won’t take your compressed lungs into account when chasing you through the streets.

It can be worth to consider e.g. a binder with a zipper, which can also be opened under clothing. Since, as mentioned, the cops aren’t considerate, it is best to test your method beforehand. Keep in mind that you will sweat especially in summer and that tape can come off faster. Try to follow general guidelines like not to bind for more than 8 hours. Also, have something with you in case you need to take off your tape or binder. (tape also tends to come off randomly). This can look different for you: a larger binder, a sports bra or prepared tape. Think about whether you need a big sweater, with which e.g. not wearing binder/tape might become bearable enough for you disphoria-technically. It is also advisable to have a person in your affinity group whom you can tell if you need to do something for the purpose of binding.

Take care of yourself, listen to your body, and drink enough.

Names, Confrontation with Cops, Searches & IDs

Others will tell you their “real” name and dates of birth, but at least one person of your affinity group should know the name from your ID card, as for many of us it does not match our real name. This is unpleasant and difficult, but you should not expose yourself to the danger of being left alone to the repressive authorities. Without the name, no action! (By the way, it is also not smart to use your real name as an action name, even if it is not written on your ID card).

Furthermore, you should think about how you want to deal with cops and possibly dress accordingly to avoid discrimination. Especially which name you give to the police. Theoretically, the police must accept your DGTI ID. (The DGTI supplementary card is specific to Germany.) In practice, the police will do what they want and you may experience more discrimination. Also, you may decide to ask for the use of your real name even without a supplementary ID. A DGTI card can also come in handy for you: e.g. if the police read you completely correctly, but your ID card does not look like you at all. The ID card could be the explanation that can save you trouble. It may be useful to inform yourself about your rights and rules the police theoretically has to follow. The police might ignore those, but showing you know your rights and being vocal about them may help you in some situations. Be aware that sometimes insisting on your rights can put you at risk of transphobic violence. Consider this when you decide how to react.

This could also be useful if the police once again needs to make your first and last name known to all bystanders, or perhaps have you repeat it a dozen times. (Especially if you don’t have an identification document at hand).

It makes sense to go through your concerns, fears and desires with your affinity group and those concerning being trans are justified. This includes yelling at cops for you when they say transphobic shit! It is important that you can trust each other, take each other seriously and tell each other when something is bothering you. Be sensitive and kind. It might be reasonable to buddy up with someone who would be categorized as the same binary gender as you, so you are not be taken separately into custody. However, don’t rely on that.

Let your decisions include whether you want to be searched by a policeman or policewoman. As said, cops do what they want and are not known to be trans-friendly in any way. However, it has happened that non-binary people were not searched by the police because of their non-binary existence, or were told to search themselves. Outing yourself, however, is more likely to end in transphobia, or in being able to choose whether you are searched by a man or a woman.
For you, it can be useful that if you choose to be searched by a woman, you can buy time for accomplices by discussing being searched by her. Secondly, there is not always a female cop present to search you, which means that cops would have to pull one over. This takes time, which they don’t always make. In the meantime, however, they do pay attention and very rarely nobody is present.

Be prepared for the police to search you the way they want to.
Be mentally and morally prepared to be put in the wrong jail if you’re arrested. But don’t put up with everything. Stand up for yourself and your friends if you have the strength to do so. Don’t get too angry at yourself for letting things happen to you to avoid discrimination because you don’t have the strength. The cops are the problem, not you.

Note: Many of us can play with our appearance and control the gender we are read as. You can let that influence your change of clothes, for example 😉

After the action/demo

If you have been subjected to transphobic police violence or violence by extreme right-wingers, make a memory log and report to e.g. https://www.raa-sachsen.de / (Specific to Saxony) or other counseling centers. For discrimination-specific violence, you might turn to www.adb-sachsen.de/de . (Specific to Saxony)

If house searches are to be feared, it is recommended to mark the doors with names in shared apartments. It is certain that the police do not necessarily adhere to this, but it still makes sense in case of doubt. Because the police will not accept your real name, the name from your ID card must be on the door. In order not to have to see it permanently, it is recommended that a note hangs over it, indicating that below it the name of the person who lives in the corresponding area is labeled. So e.g. the note then indicates:

This room is used exclusively by: (please turn)

And underneath the door is labeled with: [first and last name].

This is of course a compromise between no identifier at all and having to read the deadname every time. An useful thing to do is to read the Red Help brochure again.

For comments, additions or further experiences, either write a message to @enderlin161 on Twitter or socialmedia@ende-gelaende.org ( PGP-Key ) an email.