Theresa Bittermann does not want to quote any more individual posts from the huge wave of hate that swept over her at the beginning of the year. “There were hundreds and hundreds of hate comments, very defamatory, threats of violence.” The 34-year-old is bisexual and works as a DJ and producer under the stage name Bi male in electronic dance music for more equality. Last year she spoke out in favor of gender in a Bavarian Radio broadcast. A “right-wing Insta channel,” she says, later posted parts of it online. “And then it started in the social space.”
In 2023, the number of registered crimes against queer people in Bavaria doubled. In 2022 there were 96. A year later there were 190. The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior provided the numbers at the request of the Greens in the state parliament. Insults, threats, cases of bodily harm and sedition, it’s all there. In the area of the Munich police headquarters, the number of hate crimes in the area of ”sexual orientation” increased by 160 percent from 30 to 77 cases from 2022 to 2023. When it comes to “gender diversity,” police statistics show an increase of more than three times: from 15 to 47 cases.
The number of unreported cases is considered high. Also because many of those affected do not report it. Theresa Bittermann does. 57 in number. The public prosecutor’s office is continuing to pursue 41 of them, said the musician on Wednesday afternoon at the Sub gay and queer center on Müllerstrasse. Like others from the community, she came to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia and Interphobia this Friday, when there will be a demonstration through the city center , to talk about the increase in violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex and other queer people.
Since 2023, “Strong” has been the official reporting point for hate speech in Bavaria and is linked to the Ministry of the Interior. Those affected and specialists can contact this Bavarian LGBTQI specialist office against discrimination and violence. Theresa Bittermann, who “didn’t know what to do about it” after the hate speech online, also received help from Strong and was “encouraged” to file a report. “Even though I first had to convince the police that my integrity was being threatened.”
Consultant Annina E. from the facility reports a total of 230 cases that were reported to them in 2023, 71 more than in the previous year. Especially around Christopher Street Day, the numbers shot up due to “increased visibility,” “from insults to assaults and broken arms.” The social climate is becoming harsher.
On the International LGBTQI Day of Action next Friday in Munich, attention will also be drawn to the situation of queer asylum seekers from Uganda. “It’s life-threatening,” says Anita Beneta from the refugee advisory service in the sub. “Uganda’s new anti-LGBTIQ+ law of 2023 is one of the harshest in the world and could mean the death penalty.”
Markus Apel identifies a “dramatic threat situation” for the queer community throughout Germany. You are also a “target from the right,” says the spokesman for the Bavarian Gay and Lesbian Association. It is all the more important that Bavaria is now the last federal state to draw up a “queer action plan” and a strategy for society as a whole to protect against discrimination and violence – together with those affected and experts. “Anti-queer propaganda” in politics, which Apel also includes the gender ban, torpedoes this goal.
To mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia, a rally will take place at Marienplatz on Friday, May 17th at 7:30 p.m. A demonstration march starts from here at 8:15 p.m. via the valley, Isartor and Gärtnerplatz to the Sub on Müllerstrasse.