In the EU, more black people feel discriminated against because of their origin and skin color. Surveys in 13 EU countries have shown that the problem is greatest in Germany and has increased in recent years.
According to an EU study, the problem of racism against black people in Germany has increased significantly in the past five years. Of the 13 member states in which the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) conducted surveys for the survey, the Federal Republic actually performed the worst.
Accordingly, 76 percent of the study participants with African roots surveyed in Germany stated that they had been victims of racism within the past five years explicitly because of their origin and skin color.
In the current FRA report, only Austria has a similar rate to Germany at 72 percent. Finland follows a little behind with a value of 63 percent. The study shows the lowest survey values for the past five years for Poland (20 percent) and Sweden (25 percent).
45 percent experience Discrimination
On average across all 13 EU countries examined in the study, 45 percent of the people surveyed said they had been discriminated against because of their origin, skin color or religion in the past five years. In the previous study, the average proportion was 39 percent.
Information from around 6,750 respondents was included in the survey. FRA conducted the surveys between October 2021 and October 2022 in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Spain.
In November 2018, the FRA published the second report on the experiences of black people in the EU, based on data from 2016. At that time, 52 percent of those surveyed in Germany said they had been verbally or physically attacked in the past five years because of their ethnic or migrant background to have been discriminated against.
Mainly skin color reason for Discrimination
At 38 percent, the majority of respondents felt explicitly discriminated against because of their skin color in the past five years, followed by their ethnic or migration background (30 percent) and religion (six percent).
Looking at the past twelve months alone, 29 percent of all study participants stated that they had been the target of discriminatory or racist attacks three to five times during this period. 23 percent reported two incidents within a year and 19 percent said they had been victims of discrimination once. 16 percent of those surveyed reported six or more incidents and eleven percent felt “constantly” discriminated against in everyday life.
Disadvantages when looking for a job and apartment
When asked in which areas of everyday life those affected felt discriminated against, most respondents (34 percent) said that they had felt disadvantaged when looking for a job. 31 percent spoke of being the target of discrimination at work. The same number of study participants felt discriminated against when looking for an apartment in the past five years.
In Germany, the proportion of blacks who reported being discriminated against when looking for a job within five years was as high as 56 percent. Here only Austria has a higher value at 59 percent. When it comes to looking for accommodation, 74 percent of all respondents in Germany spoke of discriminatory experiences.
FRA calls for more effort in the fight against racism
The director of the FRA, Michael O’Flaherty, spoke of “shocking” results of the surveys. “People of African origin are increasingly discriminated against simply because of their skin color,” he said and warned: “Racism and discrimination must have no place in our societies.”
The FRA called on the EU and its member states to take measures to “ensure that people of African descent can also exercise their rights, without racism and discrimination.” Penalties must deter discrimination and racism and discriminatory practices in institutions or authorities must be prevented.