Anti-discrimination office

The City of Offenbach's Anti-Discrimination Office is a point of contact for people who have experienced or observed discrimination in Offenbach. In addition, employees of the city administration or the city's own companies can contact the commissioner in the event of an incident of discrimination. Other members of city society can also contact the commissioner if they want to help reduce discrimination in order to counteract disadvantages.

The aim of the Anti-Discrimination Office is to support people who have experienced discrimination. They are given information on how to take action against discrimination in order to assert their own rights.

In addition, inequality structures in the city are to be reduced through specialist advice, intervention and training.

The Anti-Discrimination Office is attached to Department III and is an independent staff unit.

What is discrimination?

According to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), discrimination means disadvantage based on actual or suspected categories of discrimination without objective justification. The categories of discrimination are protected by law.

Protection against discrimination is also enshrined in other laws such as Article 3 of the German Basic Law.

Which grounds/categories of discrimination are protected under the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG)?

According to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), the following grounds/discrimination categories are protected:

• Racial attributions or (ascribed) origin
• gender
• sexual identity
• Religious affiliation or world view
• age
• Illness or disability

There are various forms of discrimination, and in order to be able to record these more precisely, there are discrimination characteristics/discrimination categories, as people experience exclusion within society due to their affiliation or supposed affiliation to a group. In order to explain this process, terms such as racist attributions are used in anti-discrimination work.

Example: A person is denied the ability to be a manager because they wear a headscarf. The racist attribution in this case is the denial of abilities and is therefore a racist attribution based on religious affiliation, which is protected as a discrimination characteristic/category in the AGG.

Not all characteristics/categories are taken into account in the AGG. Discrimination on the basis of poverty/social status is a category that is not protected. In anti-discrimination counseling, all categories are taken into account due to the interdependencies.

When should you contact us?

If you are discriminated against and/or feel discriminated against. You can also contact the Anti-Discrimination Office if you have observed discrimination or need information on discrimination and protection against discrimination.

Advice is free of charge, confidential and subject to legal confidentiality. The anti-discrimination officer only acts if an order has been placed by people seeking advice.