Discrimination reports have almost doubled in Germany since 2021

Germany’s Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) has released its annual report. Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination, Ferda Ataman, concluded that racism is becoming “entrenched”, “more intense and overt” in Germany.

More people reporting discrimination in Germany

Over the course of 2025, 13.067 reports of discrimination were filed with FADA, 15 percent more than in 2024 and nearly 50 percent more than were filed in 2021.

Of these reports, the vast majority concerned ethnic or racial discrimination (4.571 cases), followed by discrimination related to disabilities or chronic illnesses (3.015 cases) and sex or gender identity (2.407 cases).

Since 2006, the General Act of Equal Treatment (AGG) has ruled that people in Germany should not be discriminated against based on their race, ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Commenting on the 2025 report's findings, Ataman called on the German government to establish the AGG to close gaps in existing law, “such as those regarding sexual harassment”. Two fairly recent high-profile cases have exposed gaps in the law regarding sexual harassment. 

In February 2025, Yanni Gentsch, a 30-year-old woman from Cologne, caught a stranger filming her bum while she was running in the park. When Gentsch went to the police to file a complaint, she found out that taking sexualised, voyueristic photographs of unconsenting strangers is not illegal in Germany.

In the second high-profile case, actor Collien Fernandes accused her husband, Christian Ulmen, of impersonating her online for years and creating sexually explicit deepfakes using her image. Fernandes filed the case in Mallorca, where the couple were living, citing stronger legal protection for women than in German courts.

Many are unable to invoke the AGG, “for example, when they experience discrimination by government agencies. The healthcare sector and discrimination involving artificial intelligence also remain unregulated and are grey areas under anti-discrimination law,” Ataman said.

Where are people experiencing discrimination in Germany?

The report also outlined the most common contexts in which people in Germany report discriminatory behaviour. In the job market and at work were the most common places. 3.670 of the 13.067 reports filed in 2025 concerned discrimination while looking for a job or at work.

Engaging with private services or trying to access goods was the second most common context in which people reported discrimination, followed by in government offices.

Highlighting specific cases throughout the report, FADA said one 2025 incident involved an ice cream parlour employee refusing to give an 11-year-old black girl change, saying “No, I don’t trust people like you” and instead giving the change to the girl’s white friend.

The report comes in the same week that a court in Flensburg charged a 60-year-old man with a hate crime after he hung a sign in his shop window which read, “Jews are banned. Nothing personal, also not antisemitism, I just can’t bear you”. 

The housing market is also a common context in which people experience racism and xenophobia. Another recent report by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) found that “unequal treatment in the housing market is not a marginal phenomenon”. 

As a result of this discrimination, racialised people in Germany are more likely to live in small spaces, the study explained. They are also more likely to have insecure rental contracts, pay more for rent, and live in poorly maintained housing, meaning they are more likely to be exposed to damp and mould.

If you have experienced discrimination in the German rental market, at work, while interacting with organisations and agencies, or in education, you can read our article on how to report harassment or discrimination in Germany or contact the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency for personalised advice.