Discrimination cases reach record high in Germany, top official says

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – People in Germany filed a record number of discrimination complaints last year, up 22% from 2022, said the head of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency on Tuesday, who called the trend "alarming."

“In 2023, 10,800 cases were reported to the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency. This is a record high. We have never had so many people contact us about discrimination," said Ferda Ataman, the head of Germany's anti-discrimination office, at a news conference in Berlin.

She described the discrimination trend as "alarming" and urged Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left government to step up efforts to fight discrimination across the country.

The German government must “do more to protect people against discrimination,” she said.

According to the 2023 anti-discrimination report, 41% of complaints were about racist or antisemitic discrimination, while discrimination against people based on disability accounted for 25% of cases, against women 24%, and people based on age 14%.

The report added that discrimination is still prevalent in the workplace, with 2,646 cases—or one-third of all cases—allegedly being connected to negative work experiences.

The second-highest proportion of last year’s complaint cases, 1,525, were about experiencing of exclusion in everyday life, such as in restaurants, while shopping, or on public transportation. Unpleasant experiences with offices, authorities, the police, and the judiciary rank third, with 1,146 complaints registered in 2023.

Meanwhile, Ataman expressed concern about the current level of anti-Muslim racism in Germany.

“I also see that anti-Muslim racism may have worsened the situation for the people themselves due to the resentment that has increasingly arisen in the last few months and years,” she said.

On Monday, a leading Berlin-based human rights group warned that Germany’s Muslim community is facing growing racism and discrimination.

“We are seeing an alarming increase in anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination,” Guzin Ceylan from the Alliance Against Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate (CLAIM) told a press conference in Berlin.

“In 2023, we have documented at least 1,926 anti-Muslim incidents, this corresponds to more than five incidents every day,” she said, adding that racist attacks increased by nearly 114% over the previous year.

Hundreds of verbal insults and threats were reported against Muslims, as well as 178 physical assaults, four attempted murders, five arson attacks, and 93 cases of vandalism and property damage, she said.

Ceylan said anti-Muslim hate crimes in the country have significantly increased since the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in Oct. 2023.