Guide: Dealing with discrimination at the University of Göttingen
The topic of discrimination raises many questions: What is discrimination? How do I recognise discrimination? What can I do?
In the following you will find some information on how to deal with cases of discrimination.
If you have any questions or concerns, you are welcome to send an E-Mail to the anti-discrimination counselling.
What is discrimination?
People can experience discrimination in all areas of life, regardless of their position, where they live, study or work. However, what counts as discrimination? Where does discrimination begin, where does it end?
In the following you will find information on definitions, forms and examples of discrimination at universities.
Understanding of discrimination
Wherein does discrimination manifest itself?
What are examples of discrimination at universities?
Based on the understanding of discrimination of the des Antidiskriminierungsverband Deutschlands (advd) the definition of discrimination presented here is composed of three complementary perspectives. These are essential in order to understand discrimination in its complexity and effectiveness.
Legal definition
According to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), discrimination is understood to mean marginalisation and objectively unjustified disadvantages. People can experience this on the basis of attributions or (supposed) affiliations, e.g. with regard to gender, ethnic or social origin, disability or chronic illness, religion or ideology, age or sexual orientation. Discrimination can occur directly or indirectly through procedures, regulations or criteria.
Article 3 Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
§§1-3 General Act on Equal Treatment
Societal contexts
Discrimination always arises against the backdrop of socially evolved structures and the associated values and norms, which are generally regarded as normality without question. Discrimination should therefore not be presented in a simplistic way as the behaviour of individuals, linked to intent or guilt, but rather is embedded in historically evolved conditions. The so-called ‘institutional discrimination’ can “(...) occur independently of individual prejudices or negative intentions” and also through the actions of “well-meaning actors” (Mechthild Gomolla, Handbuch Diskriminierung 2016, p.134).
Individual experiences
For those affected, discrimination is an individual experience of violence that violates their dignity and restricts their participation in society. Those affected are often blamed for the discrimination and are perceived as a ‘problem’ themselves. Discriminated persons therefore think carefully about whether and to whom they tell about the discrimination.
Legal definition
According to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), discrimination is understood to mean marginalisation and objectively unjustified disadvantages. People can experience this on the basis of attributions or (supposed) affiliations, e.g. with regard to gender, ethnic or social origin, disability or chronic illness, religion or ideology, age or sexual orientation. Discrimination can occur directly or indirectly through procedures, regulations or criteria.
Article 3 Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
(1) All persons shall be equal before the law.
(2) Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.
(3) No person shall be favoured or disfavoured because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith or religious or political opinions. No person shall be disfavoured because of disability.
(2) Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.
(3) No person shall be favoured or disfavoured because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith or religious or political opinions. No person shall be disfavoured because of disability.
§ 1 Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to prevent or to stop discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
§ 2 Scope
(1) For the purposes of this Act, discrimination on any of the grounds referred to in section 1 is inadmissible in relation to:
1. conditions for access to dependent employment and self-employment, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the branch of activity and at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion,
2. employment conditions and working conditions, including pay and reasons for dismissal, in particular in contracts between individuals, collective bargaining agreements and measures to implement and terminate an employment relationship, as well as for promotion,
3. access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience,
4. membership of and involvement in an organisation of workers or employers or any other organisation whose members carry on a particular profession, including the benefits provided for by such organisations,
5. social protection, including social security and health care,
6. social advantages,
7. education,
8. access to and supply of goods and services which are available to the public, including housing.
§ 3 Definitions
(1) Direct discrimination is taken to occur where one person is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation on any of the grounds referred to in section 1. Direct discrimination on the ground of gender is also taken to occur in relation to section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 4 in the event of the less favourable treatment of a woman on account of pregnancy or maternity.
(2) Indirect discrimination is taken to occur where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice is liable to put persons at a particular disadvantage compared with other persons on any of the grounds referred to in section 1, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.
(3) Harassment is deemed to be discrimination when unwanted conduct in connection with any of the grounds referred to in section 1 takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of the person concerned and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
(4) Sexual harassment is deemed to be discrimination in relation to section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 4, when unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, including unwanted sexual acts and requests to carry out sexual acts, physical contact of a sexual nature, comments of a sexual nature, as well as the unwanted showing or public exhibition of pornographic images, takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of the person concerned, in particular where it creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
(5) An instruction to discriminate against a person on any of the grounds referred to in section 1 is deemed to be discrimination. Such instruction is in particular taken to occur in relation to section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 4 where a person instructs an employee to engage in conduct which discriminates or can discriminate against another employee on one of the grounds referred to in section 1.
The purpose of this Act is to prevent or to stop discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
§ 2 Scope
(1) For the purposes of this Act, discrimination on any of the grounds referred to in section 1 is inadmissible in relation to:
1. conditions for access to dependent employment and self-employment, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the branch of activity and at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion,
2. employment conditions and working conditions, including pay and reasons for dismissal, in particular in contracts between individuals, collective bargaining agreements and measures to implement and terminate an employment relationship, as well as for promotion,
3. access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience,
4. membership of and involvement in an organisation of workers or employers or any other organisation whose members carry on a particular profession, including the benefits provided for by such organisations,
5. social protection, including social security and health care,
6. social advantages,
7. education,
8. access to and supply of goods and services which are available to the public, including housing.
§ 3 Definitions
(1) Direct discrimination is taken to occur where one person is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation on any of the grounds referred to in section 1. Direct discrimination on the ground of gender is also taken to occur in relation to section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 4 in the event of the less favourable treatment of a woman on account of pregnancy or maternity.
(2) Indirect discrimination is taken to occur where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice is liable to put persons at a particular disadvantage compared with other persons on any of the grounds referred to in section 1, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.
(3) Harassment is deemed to be discrimination when unwanted conduct in connection with any of the grounds referred to in section 1 takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of the person concerned and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
(4) Sexual harassment is deemed to be discrimination in relation to section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 4, when unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, including unwanted sexual acts and requests to carry out sexual acts, physical contact of a sexual nature, comments of a sexual nature, as well as the unwanted showing or public exhibition of pornographic images, takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of the person concerned, in particular where it creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
(5) An instruction to discriminate against a person on any of the grounds referred to in section 1 is deemed to be discrimination. Such instruction is in particular taken to occur in relation to section 2 (1) nos. 1 to 4 where a person instructs an employee to engage in conduct which discriminates or can discriminate against another employee on one of the grounds referred to in section 1.
Societal contexts
Discrimination always arises against the backdrop of socially evolved structures and the associated values and norms, which are generally regarded as normality without question. Discrimination should therefore not be presented in a simplistic way as the behaviour of individuals, linked to intent or guilt, but rather is embedded in historically evolved conditions. The so-called ‘institutional discrimination’ can “(...) occur independently of individual prejudices or negative intentions” and also through the actions of “well-meaning actors” (Mechthild Gomolla, Handbuch Diskriminierung 2016, p.134).
Individual experiences
For those affected, discrimination is an individual experience of violence that violates their dignity and restricts their participation in society. Those affected are often blamed for the discrimination and are perceived as a ‘problem’ themselves. Discriminated persons therefore think carefully about whether and to whom they tell about the discrimination.
Examples of potential forms of discrimination are:
Insults, verbal abuse, threats, hostility, denial of access to offers or support services, sexualised harassment, bullying, exclusion, physical violence, instruction to discriminate (e.g. by superiors or fellow students), stalking, less favourable grading/assessment, damage to property, etc.
Insults, verbal abuse, threats, hostility, denial of access to offers or support services, sexualised harassment, bullying, exclusion, physical violence, instruction to discriminate (e.g. by superiors or fellow students), stalking, less favourable grading/assessment, damage to property, etc.
In legal terms, discrimination occurs when people are disadvantaged or excluded on the basis of attributions or (supposed) affiliations (not objectively justifiable), e.g. with regard to:
- gender,
- ethnic or social origin,
- disability,
- religion or belief,
- age or
- sexual orientation
(based on the General Equal Opportunities Act § 1 - characteristics worthy of protection).
The University's understanding of discrimination has been expanded to include other attributions worthy of protection, e.g. nationality, language, socio-economic status, marital status, caring responsibilities and physical appearance (e.g. appearance, weight). Discrimination can occur directly, e.g. in dealings with one another, or indirectly, e.g. through procedures, regulations or (selection) criteria. Note: The following examples are intended to give an impression of frequently occurring experiences of discrimination that students have experienced or observed at various universities in Germany. They are based on publications by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency and exchanges with anti-discrimination counselling centres throughout Germany.
Immediate (direct) discrimination
- A student is rejected for an exchange semester abroad because she is chronically ill.
- Due to his age, an applicant cannot apply for the Academy of fine arts. The age limit is 30 years.
- A Muslim student is prohibited from wearing her headscarf at a university.
- A lecturer prohibits a trans* person to be addressed by the chosen forename.
- A lecturer makes fun of socially marginalized groups in the seminar.
Indirect discrimination:
- Students with children at a university hospital are faced with the problem that there is no possibility of excused absence due to the child´s illness.
- A Jewish student cannot write exams on Saturdays because of his active religious practice. He is not offered alternative dates.
- An international student is excluded from group work because he needs more time capturing tasks due to his language skills, and his fellow students are afraid of not meeting the performance requirements.
- A student asks for a later examination date, as she is currently still breastfeeding. This is denied her.
- A student in a wheelchair cannot enter the university’s premises in the evenings and on weekends because the electricity for the elevators is switched off at these times for financial reasons.
How do I identify discrimination?
This is a question that is often asked by those affected as well as involved and uninvolved third parties, and one that is not easy to answer.
Discrimination is sometimes difficult to recognise and prove. Those affected often have the uncomfortable feeling that they have been treated unfairly and at the same time have no evidence to take official action.
In order to recognise and name discrimination, it is important to focus on the perspective of those affected. The ‘three-step’ method can be helpful in assessing and dealing with discriminatory situations.
Identifying discrimination as a ‘three-step process’
Identifying discrimination as a ‘three-step process’
In the legal examination of discrimination cases, situations are assessed in three steps.
According to the guidelines ‘Protection against discrimination at universities’ published by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency: ‘Discrimination is the disadvantaging of people (1) on the basis of a characteristic worthy of protection (2) without objective justification (3)’ (p. 9). The following questions arise from this in order to recognise discrimination:
1. Is there a case of discrimination?
2. Is this discrimination based on a characteristic worthy of protection?
This follows the logic that every discrimination is a disadvantage, but not every disadvantage is discrimination. Let's take an example: A dog owner is not allowed to take his dog into a café. This may be perceived as discriminatory, but no protected characteristic is affected here and therefore it is not discrimination.
3. Is there an objective justification for the unequal treatment?
The so-called objective justifications that permit unequal treatment include, for example, compensation for disadvantages, programmes for the advancement of women or age restrictions for the protection of minors.
This three-step process can help both the persons concerned and, for example, counsellors to make an initial assessment of a situation and decide whether it constitutes discrimination. In reality, situations are usually much more complex, as discrimination is often not directly recognisable as such and is therefore difficult to grasp or even prove.
1. Is there a case of discrimination?
2. Is this discrimination based on a characteristic worthy of protection?
This follows the logic that every discrimination is a disadvantage, but not every disadvantage is discrimination. Let's take an example: A dog owner is not allowed to take his dog into a café. This may be perceived as discriminatory, but no protected characteristic is affected here and therefore it is not discrimination.
3. Is there an objective justification for the unequal treatment?
The so-called objective justifications that permit unequal treatment include, for example, compensation for disadvantages, programmes for the advancement of women or age restrictions for the protection of minors.
This three-step process can help both the persons concerned and, for example, counsellors to make an initial assessment of a situation and decide whether it constitutes discrimination. In reality, situations are usually much more complex, as discrimination is often not directly recognisable as such and is therefore difficult to grasp or even prove.
What can I do?
Both those affected and those observing, advising or interested keep asking themselves the question: What can I do concretely in the event of discrimination?
Here you will find tips for those affected, counsellors and supporters on what can be done in the event of discrimination. In addition, you will find a list of potential contact persons who offer counselling for specific target groups and characteristic-specific topics in the column on the right.
Tips for those affected: What to do after experiencing discrimination?
Tips for counsellors and supporters
Tips for those affected: What to do after experiencing discrimination?
- Talk to friends or, if possible, your family about your experience.
- Try to collect evidence of discrimination or document the situation you have experienced. Use the template for a memorandum or keep a kind of “diary” to record long-lasting discrimination.
- In cases of discrimination via electronic media: Save e-mails or take screenshots of discriminatory texts.
- Talk to people who have observed the incident and ask for their support (directly in the situation or if witness statements are needed).
- Turn to supervisors or lecturers, if a discrimination has occurred in an educational context.
- Contact supervisors or, if discrimination has occurred in the teaching context, contact teachers.
- If necessary, turn to the police.
- Contact a counselling service (a list of support and counselling services can be found in the column on the right).
- If you have witnessed direct discrimination, talk to the person affected, if assistance or help is needed.
- First listen and do not judge the reported experience.
- Take seriously what is reported to you.
- Enable those concerned to talk about discrimination.
- Do not question the experience but recognise it as such.
- Clarify that the focus for you is on the assessment of the situation of those affected.
- Name the discrimination as such, when it becomes known.
- Offer information material.
- Give those affected guidance from the counselling network of the University or the City of Göttingen (list in the right-hand column).
- If you are at a loss with the situation yourself, research possibilities for support or refer to specialised contact persons.
- Clarify open questions and possible obstacles concerning referrals to counselling services with those affected.
- Inform the person seeking counselling transparently about possible next steps and any associated consequences.
- If you wish to take action yourself or are legally obliged to do so, always obtain the consent of the person seeking advice beforetaking action, unless you are legally obliged to act directly.