interventions. An average of 99 feminizing surgeries took place each year, with a change only to the types of medical classification adopted. Rising numbers of masculinizing surgeries took place, exceeding 1600 per year. Between 10 and 16% of children diagnosed with hypospadias underwent a plastic reconstruction of the penis. In a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, German government stated that irreversible medical interventions were permissible where they are "a life-saving procedure, or the best interest of the child, for example if a child was suicidal." In 2017, Amnesty International published a report condemning "non-emergency, invasive and irreversible medical treatment with harmful effects" on children born with variations of sex characteristics in Germany and Denmark. It found that surgeries take place with limited psychosocial support, based on gender stereotypes, but without firm evidence. Amnesty International reported that "there are no binding guidelines for the treatment of intersex children". Legal protections, 2021 A law that provides for a general ban on operations in children and adolescents with 'variants of sex development' ('Varianten der Geschlechtsentwicklung') was passed in the German parliament on 25 March 2021. According to a report in the Deutsches Ärzteblatt, the law is intended to strengthen the self-determined decision-making of children and adolescents and avoid possible damage to their health. Surgical changes to sex characteristics should only take place - even with the consent of the parents - if the operation cannot be postponed until age 14. The majority of legal scholars and psychologists consulted support the approach. The Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists requires the mandatory participation of a counsellor with experience on intersex in an assessment before a possible intervention. While supportive of progress, the law that was finally passed was criticized by the Organisation Intersex International (OII) Germany, OII Europe, and Intergeschlechtliche Menschen, because they provide too many exceptions. Remedies and claims for compensation Two legal cases seeking compensation for "unwanted, harmful medical interventions" have succeeded, those of Christiane Völling and Michaela Raab. Both were adults at the time of the medical interventions. There appear to be no statutory provisions offering compensation, however, at a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in February 2017, the German government said that a compensation fund for victims of intersex genital mutilation is under discussion. Christiane Völling case In Germany in 2011, Christiane Völling won what may