Sexual identity
Even though the living situation of homosexual and bisexual people in Germany has improved overall during the last few years, gays, lesbians and bisexuals continue to face discrimination – at work, at school and, disproportionately often, in public and in the leisure sector.
Sexual identity is often used synonymously with the term sexual orientation. In fact, the term sexual identity as opposed to the term sexual orientation makes it clear that homo-, bi- or heterosexuality is an established characteristic of a person and is not only defined by a sexual relationship with another person. For that reason, the General Act on Equal Treatment (German abbreviation: AGG) protects homosexual and bisexual people against discrimination.