The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency’s annual report says that more people are reporting incidents to the agency than ever before. The most frequently reported cases – amounting to 43 percent – involved racism. Around 27 percent of people contacted the agency for advice or counselling due to discrimination connected to having a disability or chronic illness, while 22 percent got in touch due to gender discrimination. This was followed by cases regarding age discrimination at 12 percent, religion and belief at seven percent, and sexual identity
at around four percent. Ferda Ataman, Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination, said racism was growing in Germany. “Racist attitudes are becoming entrenched – and leading to significantly more severe experiences of discrimination,” she said. REVEALED: How racism affects foreigners seeking apartments in Germany According to the report, people experience racism in the form of insults, belittlement or disadvantage in settings such as the workplace, when looking for housing or in the healthcare system. “Racist behaviour not only harms those affected, it also harms society and
the economy,” warned Ataman. Ataman stressed that racism and other forms of discrimination do not disappear on their own, especially if they go largely unpunished. “Clear legal regulations are important so that everyone can live in freedom and security,” Ataman said. READ ALSO: ‘No-one will offer me a job’ – How having a foreign name affects life in Germany Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) is in place to ensure protection against discrimination. The coalition government is vowing to reform the rules, with plans for
victims of discrimination to have more time to report claims. Meanwhile, protection against sexual harassment will be expanded to cover more areas. Furthermore, those affected should be able to receive more support from the Anti-Discrimination Agency in future – for example, through a dispute resolution procedure. However, Ataman views the reform with scepticism. “It is certainly right and long overdue to close some gaps in the law, such as in the area of sexual harassment,” he said. “But the planned reform is too weak and
does very little for people in their daily lives.” Discrimination ‘more intense and overt’ In more than 1,400 of the discrimination cases logged, residents reported discrimination by government agencies and authorities. More than 500 inquiries concerned discrimination in dealings with the judiciary and police, while over 600 cases were reported in the education sector. READ ALSO: Major study reveals extent of racism among German authorities Ataman says the general hike in counselling cases is partly because of growing awareness of the issue. She also points
to an increased sense of distress, with discrimination occurring more openly than before and no longer “behind closed doors”. Eva Andrades, executive director of the Anti-Discrimination Association of Germany, added that discrimination in Germany was becoming “much more intense and overt”.
Germany, racism, discrimination, anti-discrimination agency, Ferda Ataman, AGG, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, age discrimination, religion and belief, sexual identity, judiciary, police, education sector