Racism emerged in counseling activities in Switzerland
A trilingual federal report documented and analyzed the 572 cases of racial discrimination in 2020 in the workplace or in the neighborhood
In 2020, the Victims of Racism Advocacy Network documented and analyzed 572 cases of racial discrimination. In Switzerland, the majority of reported incidents occurred in the workplace or in the neighborhood.
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The motive most often cited is xenophobia, followed by racism against blacks and hostility towards Muslims. Other areas of life particularly affected were public space, relations with the administration and police, and the Internet.
Due to some changes made to the method of recording cases, the 2020 figures cannot be compared with those of the previous year.
The professional context is prevalent with 95 cases
The area of life with the highest number of reported cases is the workplace (95). Victims reported disparaging and disrespectful insults and behavior from colleagues or unequal treatment from superiors.
One student, for example, sought help from counseling because during her practicum at an elementary school, the school’s principal approached her in a derogatory manner because of the turban she was wearing, demanded that she show her hair, asked her if she had hair problems, and advised her to style it differently.
After this confrontation, the young woman was asked to stop practicing without any reason.
Rassismusvorfälle aus der Beratungsarbeit 2020 im Schweiz
Incidents racistes recensés en 2020 en Suisse
Episodi di razzismo trattati nell’attività di consulenza 2020 in Svizzera
72 cases involved the neighborhood or neighborhood
72 counseling cases involved incidents of racism that occurred in the neighborhood and/or neighborhood.
Restrictions imposed on public life to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted incidents of discrimination into the private sphere, especially in the neighborhood.
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For example, after moving into a new apartment, a recognized refugee family was subjected to harassment by a neighbor who repeatedly made disrespectful comments about Muslims, swore at the children in the stairwell and repeatedly harassed the family by complaining about non-existent noise and calling the police without reason.
At the request of the family, the counselling service informed the woman in writing of the cases covered by the criminal law against racial discrimination. This intervention led to an improvement in the situation.
Xenophobia would appear to be the motive for 304 incidents
The motive for discrimination most often mentioned was xenophobia (304 cases), followed by racism against blacks (206) and hostility towards Muslims (55).
In one out of four cases, counselors found multiple discrimination in which racial discrimination was mostly compounded by discrimination due to legal status, gender, or social standing.
The Racism Incidents Report 2020 has a new look and offers content that is more in tune with the target audience.
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In addition, in order to give a more realistic picture of racist incidents in everyday life and in the private sphere, cases in which a racist motive cannot be excluded have been counted as cases of racial discrimination.
Because of these changes, the results of the 2020 report cannot be compared with those of analyses in previous years.
Available in German, French, and Italian, the report “Racism Incidents Treated in the 2020 Counseling Activity” can be downloaded at www.network-racism.ch.
