Switzerland: 1 in 6 people suffer from racial discrimination/sharp increase in racism
In recent years, more racist incidents have been reported in Switzerland than ever before.
For the first time, most of the reports were not incidents at work, but incidents at schools. An 11-year-old student is repeatedly racially abused in class. Another black student is locked in the equipment room and classmates call him a racist. The police commit unjustified killings. These are just some of the examples mentioned in the latest report on the state of racism, prepared by the Federal Commission against Racism in cooperation with the Organization for Human Rights and the Advisory Network on Racism in Switzerland. According to this report, in 2023, 876 cases of racism were reported. These cases are 24% more than in 2022. The majority of cases reported in the education sector involve blacks. According to a survey, one in six people living in Switzerland has experienced racial discrimination in the last five years. In a monitoring survey compiled by the Anti-Racism Service, 17% of the people - that is 1.2 million people - said they had experienced cases of racist discrimination. The report says that most victims of racial discrimination are aged 15-39. Racial discrimination occurs in all areas of life. About 69% of respondents stated that they have been discriminated against in their daily working life or in their job search. Also, 30% of public institutions and 27% of society have named schools as places of discrimination. Earlier, a UN working group announced that blacks in Switzerland face daily discrimination as well as severe racial behavior by the police. This group announced in a statement that it is concerned about the spread of racial discrimination and the human rights situation of people of African origin in Switzerland. Also, a 59-point document addresses various problems faced by blacks in the country. This includes what the case called "shocking reports of police brutality with impunity over the past few decades".
