© dpa
Politicians, security authorities and civil society organizations want to do more to combat queer hostility in Berlin.
A round table on "Protection against anti-queer hate crime" will be set up next Tuesday, Senator for Anti-Discrimination Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD) announced.
The round table will includes representatives from various Senate administrations, the police, other security authorities and the districts. Various initiatives and organizations are also involved. "When putting together the members, it was important that groups whose voices are often not heard are represented at the table," said Kiziltepe's Senate Administration. This should ensure that many perspectives are taken into account.
According to the information provided, the round table will be a kind of central steering committee to develop a cross-departmental and cross-district Berlin state strategy against anti-queer hostility. This process is set to take around two years. Berlin's Queer Liaison Officer Alfonso Pantisano is leading the round table. "Violence against queer people is still an everyday phenomenon in Berlin, even as the rainbow capital, and that appalls me deeply," Kiziltepe told the press agency DPA. "It is my great wish that we make Berlin safer for the queer communities."
Over the past three decades, a lot has already been achieved here, particularly through the implementation of action plans. "The queer infrastructure in Berlin is better developed than in any other federal state." Nevertheless, according to the Senate Department for Anti-Discrimination, anti-queer crimes have steadily increased in the capital since 2014. While there were 377 crimes with such a motive in 2020, there were 456 the following year. Most recently, the proportion of lesbian, bisexual and queer women affected has risen, it said. Male victims are affected to a large extent by violent crimes.