Mr Lehmann, in 2021 you were directly elected to the Bundestag by more than 70,000 Cologne residents. Since November, you have been Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Family Affairs and since January, you have also been the Federal Government's Queer Commissioner. With all these successes: Do you personally still experience disadvantages or discrimination because you are gay?
In the 20 years that I have been gay, I have of course also been discriminated against from time to time. For example, my husband and I have been verbally abused on the street because we were walking hand in hand or attacked on the internet. Nevertheless, I have certainly experienced less everyday discrimination than other people because I am in a privileged role as a politician. My party has always fought for the rights of LGBTIQ* and other minorities. I am naturally surrounded by a very safe and open environment.
Recently you have reported a hate preacher from Görlitzwho agitated against queer people in a video and wished them dead. How do you generally deal with homophobic attacks? When do you defend yourself - and when do you ignore it so as not to give extremists any additional attention?
When it comes to calls for violence or a call for murder, as in the case of this hate preacher, I take a clear stance. I call in the state security services and press charges. In my political work, I unfortunately have to live with hate comments online, which have increased massively now that I am even more in the public eye due to my new position as Queer Representative. I ignore a lot of it, but here too I report comments and block the authors when boundaries are crossed.
Discrimination within the LGBTIQ* community: Even within the queer community, trans* people and non-binary people often encounter reservations. How inclusive do you find the queer scene?
The LGBTIQ* community is very diverse - and just as diverse are the demands that the different groups place on politics. As queer commissioner, I am the point of contact for everyone. I try to listen and incorporate the needs of the community into government work. Despite all the differences within the community, I also see a lot of potential for alliances. And I am convinced that if we want to achieve something in terms of queer politics in this legislature, we need mutual solidarity. We need to stand up together for the rights of the LGBTIQ* community - for example, currently with the planned self-determination law, which is intended to replace the so-called "Transsexuals Act". There is a lot of headwind at the moment and we will still have to have many a discussion and do a lot of persuasive work until the law is finalised. Support from within the community is therefore important.
As a queer representative, do you also feel responsible for more Tolerance within the community - and how could we promote them?
In any case, I see this as one of my tasks. I think the most important thing is to stay in dialogue with each other and to realise that we can only achieve the ambitious goals that we have set out in the coalition agreement if the community gets involved and acts in solidarity. Then we can make a real start for diversity, self-determination and equal rights for LGBTIQ* people in this legislative period. This summer, for example, I want to give the go-ahead for the first nationwide action plan for diversity and against queer hostility.
The associations and initiatives of the queer community are making a very important contribution to this action plan - we are starting a dialogue process about what is important to them and where further support is needed. Family law should also finally be updated and adapted to social realities. After all, families are diverse and do not always consist of just a mother, father and child. We therefore want to reform parentage law and provide legal protection for multiple parenthoods. There are various interests within the community on all of these topics, which are expressed and also heard.
"Medically, HIV is now well manageable. Discrimination, on the other hand, makes people ill."
Today, people with HIV can almost easily Living with the virus - and HIV is not transmissible under therapy. A major problem for them, however, is the Stigmatisation of HIV. Almost 80 per cent find it risky to talk about their infection because they are often confronted with prejudices - on a date, for example. In your role, how do you want to contribute to further reducing the stigmatisation of people with HIV?
HIV is now well manageable medically. Discrimination, on the other hand, makes people ill. For many people with HIV, the fear of rejection and marginalisation outweighs the health consequences. I am therefore in favour of ensuring that the action plan for diversity and against queer hostility also includes measures such as strengthening educational work on HIV. I will ask the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Centre for Health Education to play an active role here in order to make doctors more aware of current treatment and prevention options and to prevent stigmatisation. Because nobody with HIV should have to hide.
According to surveys only one fifth of Germans know that HIV therapy reliably prevents the transmission of HIV. What is it like in your circle of friends? Do they all already know about protection through therapy?
In my queer circle of acquaintances, largely yes. But I recently explained at length to a heterosexual friend who has a lot of fears about HIV and Aids what PrEP is and that HIV treatment can prevent the transmission of the virus. She didn't know any of this and was relieved and grateful for the information afterwards.
"PrEP has proven to be highly effective protection in recent years (...). Now it's a matter of ensuring supply in rural areas too."
For more than two years, the PrEP as a health insurance benefit, including for gay men. What is your assessment after two years of PrEP on prescription?
Nowadays there are three good and effective methods of prevention: condoms, PrEP and therapy. PrEP has proven to be highly effective protection in recent years - as shown by research conducted by the RKI to accompany and evaluate the introduction of PrEP. According to this, it is estimated that up to 21,600 people in Germany were already using PrEP in 2020, almost predominantly men. We also know that there are very large regional differences in PrEP use - use is particularly widespread in large cities such as Berlin. Now it's all about that, to ensure supply in rural areas as well and in regions where there are fewer doctors who prescribe PrEP - and at the same time to disseminate information about PrEP even further into the community.
How much has PrEP changed gay (sex) life?
I think almost every gay man knows the feeling of waiting for the results of an HIV test at regular intervals and hoping that the test is negative. This constant fear of infection can be demoralising and has often been a burden at the back of your mind - even though sexuality should actually be liberating and free of fear. PrEP has given gay men additional security - for many, PrEP is a liberation, even if it does not protect against other STIs.
"This constant fear of infection can be demoralising and was often a burden in the back of our minds - even though sexuality should actually be liberating and free of fear."
Your partner Arndt Klocke has already been outed as a PrEP user in an interview and also showed his face on social media with ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU in favour of PrEP. Now, of course, we are very interested: Which of the three safer sex methods to protect against HIV do you use and why?
I've stuck with the good old condom so far. (laughs)
Arndt Klocke and you have been a couple for 20 years. So to finish, please give us a relationship tip: how do you manage to have a happy relationship - despite a career and a lot of commuting between NRW and Berlin?
My husband and I make sure that we have time together - our private lives are sacred to both of us. We spend the weekends together as often as possible, either in Cologne or Berlin. We go to the cinema a lot, we're interested in culture, sport and travelling. And somehow the commute is exhausting, but it's also good for the relationship because we always look forward to seeing each other again.
You and Mr Klocke were recently on the podcast Queer stuff as a guest. There you also talked about sex outside of a relationship. You said that you would "grant and wish for open relationships for straight people too." Why would you recommend an open relationship?
I would not like to recommend any particular Relationship model. Because how relationships are lived, what makes you happy and what fulfilling sexuality means is something that everyone has to decide for themselves and negotiate with other people. What I would definitely recommend, however, is openness - both within partnerships and externally. Because that frees you up and also creates new spaces for other people to dare to do the same. Self-determined sexuality with changing partners, committed monogamous partnerships and all variations in between: Being able to decide for yourself without stigma is at the heart of a liberal society. And this also includes a sex-positive policy.
