More and more people are turning to the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency to report discrimination. In 2023, there were 10,772 people affected—22 percent more than in the previous year. Most of the inquiries, around 3,400, concerned racial discrimination. This accounted for 41 percent of all inquiries to the advice team (2022: 43 percent). The experts at the Anti-Discrimination Office can provide information on legal options, among other things.
“Foreigners out” sentiment and contempt for humanity have “become normal”: So said Ferda Ataman, at the presentation of the annual report in Berlin. Ataman is the independent federal commissioner for anti-discrimination. She warned that discrimination endangers democracy and the rule of law in Germany. She therefore called on the federal government to take “decisive action against everyday hatred and racism”.
Many people seeking advice experienced discrimination at work. There were 2600 inquiries about this—a third of all cases. However, the Anti-Discrimination Agency also received reports of discriminatory experiences on the housing market, with public offices and authorities as well as the police and judiciary, and complaints about discrimination in public and during leisure time. The figures in the annual report only show a trend. Many cases are not reported, writes Ataman in the foreword to the annual report.
The experts at the Anti-Discrimination Agency advise and support those affected by discrimination on the basis of the General Equal Treatment Act. This law from 2006 is intended to protect against discrimination on racial grounds or on the grounds of ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity.
Information on the anti-discrimination office, its tasks, the legal basis and contact details is also available in plain language at:
https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/DE/startseite/startseite-node.html
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Das Reichstagsgebäude in Berlin. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
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