CDU on equality and diversity

The CDU wants to fight violence against women and domestic violence based on the state action plan implementing the Istanbul Convention. This includes more shelter places and counseling, a tenth women's shelter, and prevention in daycare centers and schools.

The CDU wants to protect women better from violence. There should be more places in shelters. Berlin should get a tenth women's shelter. Children should learn early about limits and respect.

The basis is the state action plan implementing the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty on violence against women. Measures are to be carried out across government departments. Awareness and early intervention are to be strengthened in schools, daycare, youth services, sports clubs, public administration, police, courts and health care. Equality, consent and nonviolent conflict resolution are to be taught early in daycare and schools.

The CDU wants to improve the situation of people affected by domestic violence. Victims should be able to get out of shared leases more easily, and abusers should face consequences in custody and visitation law. In the program's view, it is the perpetrators who should feel ashamed, not the victims.

Some people face violence in their own home. The CDU wants to help them more. They should leave a shared lease more easily. They should find a new home quickly. A violent parent may lose contact with the child.

Victims should be able to exit shared rental contracts faster and with less red tape and quickly find a new apartment. A parent who uses violence against the other parent should expect restricted or no contact with the child, and must not get access to the new address. Mandatory programs for offenders, low-threshold counseling, public campaigns and regular studies of unreported cases are to be expanded. Initial reception centers and shelters should have binding protection plans, trained staff and safe spaces. Residence-law options are to be used consistently against offenders who attack women.

The CDU rejects gender-inclusive language forms, such as the gender asterisk, in government agencies and public institutions. In its view, administrative communication should be measured by correct, understandable German.

The CDU wants no gender-inclusive language in public offices. This means things like stars inside words. Offices should write clearly and simply. The CDU thinks gender language does not fit that.

Berlin's administration is to communicate clearly, understandably and in a citizen-friendly way. The program calls gender-inclusive language artificial. The rejection applies to government agencies and public institutions.

The CDU wants Article 3 of the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, to be amended to include "sexual identity." Article 3 covers equality before the law and bans on discrimination.

Article 3 of the German constitution bans unfair treatment. It lists traits like sex or origin. The CDU wants to add one more trait. It is "sexual identity." This should better protect gay and lesbian people, for example.

The CDU wants to keep pushing the amendment of Article 3 of the Basic Law and see it through. Sexual identity would then be explicitly protected against discrimination under the constitution. The program places this in the context of responsibility in a diverse city.

The CDU wants to strengthen the petitions committee and cut overlaps with the state anti-discrimination office and the citizens' and police ombudsperson. It rejects further publicly funded special structures for individual groups.

The CDU is against all kinds of discrimination. But it wants fewer offices doing the same job. There should be no new offices just for single groups.

The CDU states that it opposes every form of discrimination. The petitions committee is to gain more weight. Duplicate structures with the state anti-discrimination office and the citizens' and police ombudsperson are to be reduced.