For years, trans people have had to fight to have the state recognise their gender, key for acceptance in society — battles which for many continue to this day.
This investigation by Investigate Europe exposes how thousands of trans people across Europe were pushed towards invasive surgery under “sterility” laws imposed on them by national authorities.
In at least six EU countries sterilisation requirements — which typically meant undergoing at least a gonadectomy — were explicitly written into legislation on gender recognition.
Investigate Europe research uncovered that more than 11,000 people in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden were subject to such conditions in years ranging from 1972 to 2025. Without undergoing sterilising gender reassignment procedures, it was not possible to have one’s gender changed in state records.
The practices were common in several other EU countries too, the investigation found, and while effectively mandatory, they were not written into national laws. Consequently, the number of people pushed by their states to undergo the procedures is almost certainly much higher.
Many trans people actively seek gender reassignment surgery as part of a desired bodily transition. But not all of them do — at least not procedures that leave one permanently infertile. Due to these laws, thousands were ultimately deprived of the opportunity to choose freely.
The investigation details the previously unknown reach of such laws (now finally a thing of the past in the EU) and how years later, the impact of these decisions continue to impact trans people across Europe.
The investigation was published with media partners around the continent, including Arte in France, Taz in Germany, Il Manifesto in Italy, TransTelex in Romania and others. See the stories below.