According to a study, a large majority in Germany would like stronger action against racial discrimination. This emerges from a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, which was published on Tuesday.
According to this, 70 percent of those surveyed stated that a lot or more should be done to ensure equal treatment of people with a migration background and people who are perceived as foreign or not white. In 2008, only 43 percent had said so.
At the same time, 49 percent of those surveyed are of the opinion that people who are perceived as foreign or not white are severely discriminated against. In the comparison year 2008, 31 percent saw strong discrimination against “people with a foreign appearance”. The authors of the study stated that the aspect was queried using a different formulation at the time.
Ataman: “Anti-discrimination has arrived in the middle”
The Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Ferda Ataman, sees the study results as a sign that society is not only ready for anti-discrimination, but also expects it. “Anti-discrimination has arrived in the middle,” said Ataman when presenting the paper. There is no social division or polarization on the subject. For the Federal Commissioner, discrimination divides society, not commitment against it.
According to the makers of the study, one of the reasons for the increased awareness of discrimination is that the proportion of people with a migration background has increased. It is not surprising that there is tailwind on this issue, said Ulrich Kober from the Bertelsmann Foundation. One can only hope that politicians will pick up the ball.