| 
4.2.3.1 Victimization Surveys
We identified a small number of organizations in Germany representing the interests of particular minority or victim groups that are trying to fill the data gap on hate crimes affecting members of their communities by conducting victimization surveys. Their approach is similar to some of their counterparts in Poland. Because of thei direct access and day-to-day contact with the individuals most likely affected by hate crimes, these NGOs are able to identify—much better than academics or officials can—common patterns of discrimination, vulnerability and exposure to violence, as well as the perceptions of those affected. For example, these organizations receive prompt and open answers to questions like: do the victims and their families feel safe in the streets; do they have confidence in the police services and other government institutions; etc.?
Roma and Sinti
One such survey was administered by the Central Council of German Roma and Sinti (Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma) in 2006. Besides the media attention given to the particularly brutal hate crimes, the results illustrated patterns of existing discrimination, resentment and violence that especially plague and intimidate members of the Roma communities. (4) A disturbing 76 percent of more than 300 respondents stated that they had experienced some form of discrimination; 45.9 percent reported discrimination by authorities, including law enforcement agencies. The report also mentions 34 cases of harassment and violent assaults by neighbors and 26 incidents of violent attacks carried out by neo-Nazis. (5)
LGBT Community
In the absence of police or other official reporting, some gay and lesbian rights organizations in Germany are also conducting surveys and/or are collecting infor- mation on incidents of violence against the LGBT community. No organization, however, produces up-to-date national statistics. Reporting usually covers a particular city or state. The afore-mentioned Berlin-based organization MANEO, which has been monitoring reports of hate crimes targeting gay men submitted by victims or provided to the organization by the police since 1993, reported 274 cases of anti-gay violence in Berlin for 2006. (6) In a more recent publication based on a comprehensive national online survey (a sample of 24,000), the authors pointed out that more than 35 percent of all respondents mentioned experiencing homophobic violence in 2006-2007; 63 percent of all respondents under the age of 18 reported that they had been victims of hate crimes. (7) Broken Rainbow, a national federation representing mainly lesbian associations active in anti-violence projects, published a report in 2006 on violence targeting lesbian women, covering the period between 2002 and 2004. Their victimization survey documented 77 cases of harassment and violent attacks, most of which were committed in the public sphere by groups of men not part of the far-right milieu. (8) For 2007 the staff at the association Lesbian Counseling Services in Berlin registered about 60 incidents of anti-lesbian hate crimes outside the home, most of them having a clear sexist and anti-lesbian motivation, some of them falling into the category »incitement of the people,« often a combination of both. Our interview partner also pointed out that most anti-lesbian verbal and physical attacks committed in the public sphere are not carried out by offenders with a right-wing extremist background, but rather by groups of »normal« younger men, mostly Germans and, to a lesser degree, members of migrant communities.
Organizations Representing Religious and Cultural Communities
No systematic monitoring is being conducted by any NGO in Germany on hate crimes directed against Muslims. (9) The same is true for disabled people, although a recent report by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) states that preliminary research »suggests that a disabled person is at least one and a half times more likely to be the victim of assault or abuse than other people of similar age and gender.« (10) The Jewish communities in Germany have not yet published any reports or victimization surveys with regard to anti-Semitic violence, but the Central Council of German Jews (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) provides information regarding anti-Semitic incidents to the European Jewish Congress and publishes press releases on hate crimes on a regular basis. Some Jewish organizations are part of broader NGO networks such as the Coordination Council of German Non- governmental Organizations against Anti-Semitism (Koordinierungsrat deutscher Nichtregierungsorganisationen gegen Antisemitismus). These organizations partake in some form of monitoring, particularly with respect to anti-Semitic biases in media reports and public discourses. (11) Furthermore, this council, together with other politicians, academics and intellectuals, has been urging the federal government to compile an annual report about anti-Semitism in Germany, including detailed information on anti-Semitic offenses, threats, insults and related incidents, in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of current trends and developments. At the beginning of May 2008, the recently formed network Jewish Forum for Democracy and against Anti-Semitism (Jüdisches Forum für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus) announced its plans to launch a new internet information platform, and to continue its cooperation with other organizations, foundations and politicians in monitoring and combating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in Germany. (12)
4. One example is an attack on 30 July 2001 on a campsite in Wildau (Brandenburg), where 40 Roma were camping. The site was bombed with at least three Molotow-cocktails. Berliner Zeitung, 31 Nov 2001.
5. Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma 2006. Ergebnisse der Repräsentativumfrage des Zentralrates Deutscher Sinti und Roma über den Rassismus gegen Sinti und Roma in Deutschland, Heidelberg.
6. MANEO 2007. MANEO Bericht 2006, Berlin, p. 13.
7. MANEO 2007. Gewalterfahrungen von schwulen und bisexuellen Jugendlichen und Männern in Deutschland: Ergebnisse der MANEO-Umfrage 2006/2007, Berlin, p. 6.
8. Broken Rainbow 2006. Gewalt gegen Lesben und häusliche Gewalt in lesbischen Zusammenhängen: Auswertung der Erhebungsbögen der Lesbenberatungsstellen und Lesbentelefone, Berlin.
9. Bosch; Peucker 2007. Ethnic Discrimination and Xenophobia in Gemany, p. 6.
10. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) 2006. Challenges and Reponses to Hate-Motivated Incidents, p. 31
11. Hiram7 Review 2007. Koordinierungskonferenz deutscher Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen gegen Antisemitismus, press release, 18 Jul 2007, Hamburg.
12. Aviva-Berlin Online Magazin für Frauen, 30 Apr 2008.
(OPP)
