Justice and police must protect LGBT people better

LGBT people deserve better protection by police and justice. Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities Zuhal Demir has readied a plan with 115 action points intended to make police and justice more alert, while also giving them more possibilities to act against homophobia and transphobia. “Because these things are, either openly or covertly, unfortunately still present in our society,” Zuhal Demir says. In 2016, equal opportunities institution Unia opened 104 case files, a serious increase over previous years.

Repression and also acceptance

Specifically, there will be extra training for police officers and a national contact point for crimes. Discrimination of transgender people will be punished more severely. Furthermore, justice will investigate why cases of hate crimes are dropped so often. But Secretary of State Demir is not only targeting repression. She is also making efforts to achieve acceptance of LGBT people by all layers of the population. “Research tells us that it is above all young Muslims who sometimes have difficulties in this regard. So there is still a great need for explanation and awareness-raising,” Secretary of State Demir concludes.