Law & Consulting
In a state governed by the rule of law, there is a claim that the law provides effective institutionalized ways to combat racism with the help of supportive advisory structures. However, the first project phase of the thematic focus 'Law & Advice' showed, among other things, that there is a gap between this claim and reality.
Guiding research questions
- What opportunities do people affected by racism have to defend themselves against racism through institutional channels?
- Which forms of racism are (not) taken into account?
- What structural obstacles do people affected by racism face?
In a state governed by the rule of law, there is a claim that the law provides effective institutionalized ways of combating racism with the help of supportive advisory structures. However, the first project phase of the thematic focus 'Law and counseling' showed, among other things, that there is a gap between this claim and reality. Overall, the limited legal scope both in the context of specialized victim counseling centers and anti-discrimination counseling leads to a broad focus on alternatives to legal action. At the same time, it became apparent that people affected by racism find numerous ways, both within and outside of existing legal structures, to use the language and forms of the law, to question and redefine them and thereby actively resist racism and work towards reforms.
The stated ambivalence of the law forms the starting point and focus of current research. For this purpose, cases of racist violence are examined whose classification by civil society differs greatly from the state-legal classification, especially those that are recognized as acts of racist violence by civil society but have not been judged as such by German courts. These cases are examined in more detail in interviews with experts from the field of counseling in order to trace the mechanisms of the discrepancy and hurdles in the legal process. In order to be able to formulate concrete recommendations for action to reduce the discrepancy between civil society and legal processing of racist violence, concrete ways in which state institutions can better meet the expectations placed on them in these areas will also be discussed in focus group discussions with actors from the judiciary.
