North Rhine-Westphalia: Development of registration offices for racism and queer hostility

Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia has started to set up four reporting points for racist incidents and attacks in connection with sexual orientation and gender identity.

North Rhine-Westphalia: Development of registration offices for racism and queer hostility

Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia has started to set up four reporting points for racist incidents and attacks in connection with sexual orientation and gender identity. The network, which is unique in Germany, also records and documents incidents below the criminal liability limit, said the new Equal Opportunities and Integration Minister Josefine Paul (Greens) on Friday. In April, the first state-wide reporting office for anti-Semitic incidents in North Rhine-Westphalia started work.

The initiative for setting up the four other registration offices had come from the former FDP-led ministry. The passages focus on queer hostility, anti-Muslim racism, antiziganism and other forms of racism. They are scheduled to start work in mid-2023.

The black-green state government is providing 140,000 euros each for setting up the registration offices. They should offer a low-threshold opportunity to report incidents and thus make discrimination more visible. "We have set ourselves a lot for the new legislative period in order to further promote the reduction of discrimination in our society," explained Paul. According to Paul, the new state government also wants to set up a state anti-discrimination agency and draw up an anti-discrimination law.