The breakdown below may include hate speech offences, which fall outside of the OSCE's hate crime definition. One criminal incident may be recorded with more than one bias motivation in the breakdown below.
In January 2021, amendments to the Act Governing Social Compensation Law of 12 December 2019 came into force to improve the regulation of outpatient trauma clinics. In particular, the Law aims to establish a statutory entitlement for treatment in such clinics, including providing immediate psychological assistance for victims of crime. In August 2021, a new Guideline on the payment of hardship benefits for victims of terrorist and extremist attacks entered into force that improves transparency for victims.
In April 2021, the Act on Combating Right-Wing Extremism and Hate Crime, adopted by the German Federal Parliament, came into force. The act includes amendments to various federal laws. In particular, it extends the sentencing provision on aggravating circumstances of the German Criminal Code [Section 46 (2)StGB] and explicitly mentions anti-Semitic motives as an example of motives evidencing contempt for humanity.
In September 2021, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), the Association of Counselling Centres for Victims of Right-wing, Racist and Anti-Semitic Violence (VBRG), and ODIHR co-organized a two-day virtual event as part of ODIHR's hate crime victim support project. The aim of the event was to present the German support system, especially for persons affected by hate crime, to participants from various European countries. The project was funded by the EU Commission and the German Federal Foreign Office, and aimed to facilitate an exchange of best practices and the development of new strategies to better support the victims of hate crime.
In October 2021, the Federal Victims' Commissioner hosted a workshop to improve support for and enhance networking between initiatives and organizations that care for victims of right-wing violence. The aim of the workshop was to enable victim (protection) commissioners and central contact points of the Länder to strengthen their networking with the counselling centres for victims of right-wing violence and the centres for democracy.
The Federal Ministry of Justice continued funding a project of the German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR), aimed at improving the prosecution of racist crimes and structures of co-operation between various actors (the justice system, public prosecutor's office, police, and victim protection associations, among others). It consists of pilot projects in three Länder and is intended to last three years.
This category also includes hate crimes committed with a bias based on gender identity.
This category only includes hate crimes committed with a bias based on sexual orientation.
The Council of Europe published relevant recommendations in its "Resolution CM/ResCMN(2022)7 on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Germany".
ODIHR recognizes Germany's efforts to address the prosecution of hate crimes, including by improving co-operation among relevant stakeholders, including civil society, as well as by submitting information on police records. However, based on the available information, it observes that Germany has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution and judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that Germany would benefit from raising awareness among and building the capacity of criminal justice officials to address hate crime.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes and to reporting such crimes periodically to ODIHR. Participating States are also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Germany in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.
In addition to the incidents summarized below, this graph includes the following numbers of hate incidents reported as statistics: 873 reported by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS); 898 reported by the Association of Counseling Centers for Victims of Right-wing, Racist and Antisemitic Violence in Germany (VBRG); and 203 reported by MANEO.