Grüne on equality and diversity

The Greens want to create an anti-discrimination law for Hesse and strengthen the state's anti-discrimination office. In the state constitution, protection against discrimination is to be broadened and the term "race" replaced.

The Greens want a new law against discrimination. Discrimination means people are treated worse, for example because of where they come from. The law should protect those affected. The word "race" should be removed from the Hesse constitution.

The law is to contain a comprehensive list of characteristics on which no one may be disadvantaged. Anti-discrimination and LGBTIQ networks are to keep receiving funding. In the party's view, a diverse Hesse is a task not only for politics but for society as a whole.

The Greens want to broaden the Action Plan for Acceptance and Diversity and reduce discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Anti-queer crimes are to be recorded separately and prosecuted by a specialized prosecutor's office.

The Greens want to protect queer people better. Queer people are, for example, lesbians, gay men and trans people. There should be more advice and help. The police should count crimes against queer people separately.

Plans include training for police, education and public administration, support for queer refugees and for queer youth in rural areas, and safe housing with social-work support. Contact officers at police headquarters are to be strengthened. Counseling for trans people will continue, and the Self-Determination Act is to be used fully in state law. Acceptance of diversity is to feature more in school sex education. The rainbow flag is to fly on public buildings on suitable occasions.

The Greens want to keep supporting Jewish communities and help make Jewish life in Hesse safe and visible. They affirm Israel's right to exist, reject the BDS campaign and want to expand exchange with Israel.

Jewish people should be able to live safely in Hesse. The Greens want to keep supporting Jewish communities. They want to fight hatred of Jews. Hesse and Israel should work closely together.

The state commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism is to be strengthened. Rural Jewish life with its small communities and old synagogues is to get special attention, for example through pooled research on rural Jewry. The party will examine protecting Jewish holidays along the lines of Bavarian law. Ties with Israel in science, business and culture and exchange programs are to grow. More generally, tolerance and cooperation among religious communities are to be promoted.

The Greens want to reduce discrimination at universities, strengthen anti-discrimination officers and support women's academic careers. International students and researchers are to be welcomed, and those who have fled their countries are to keep receiving scholarships.

The Greens want less discrimination at universities. Anti-discrimination officers should get more powers. Women in science should get support. Refugee researchers and students keep getting scholarships.

The powers and scope of anti-discrimination officers are to be defined, and more universities are to offer training. University bodies are to become more diverse. A survey of study paths is meant to show which barriers exist, including in building accessibility. Gender research funding, Mentoring Hessen and the Hessen-Technikum will continue. Aid for students in hardship is to be reorganized and placed with the Studierendenwerke (student services organizations).

The Greens want women to be better represented in politics, business and culture. State-owned companies are to fill half of their board seats with women, the equal rights act is to be developed further, and the party backs steps toward gender-balanced parliaments.

The Greens want more women in important positions. In state-owned companies, half of the board members should be women. More women should sit in parliaments too. Women's officers in towns should get more weight.

The Hessian Equal Rights Act is to be evaluated, developed and possibly extended. The party supports a women's quota for supervisory and executive boards and wants to promote part-time leadership. Plans include a state coordination office for gender equality, an equality conference and uniform rules for women's officers in the municipal code. According to the program, women make up 34.3 percent of the state parliament. The Greens back the federal commission on parity and want to evaluate its results for the state parliament, municipalities and top offices.

The Greens want to close the pay gap between women and men and encourage a more equal split of family and care work. Single parents are to be supported through counseling and more childcare.

On average, women earn less than men. The Greens want to change that. Men and women should share family work more fairly. There should be more childcare, also early, late and on weekends. Single parents should find help more easily.

The Hessian pay atlas is to be continued and record part-time jobs in more detail; the party wants to discuss the results with employers and unions. To tackle the unequal split of care work, the program relies on working-time models geared to life phases, further pilot projects and a statewide awareness campaign. Childcare is to grow especially at off-peak hours and on weekends. Single parents, 90 percent of them women according to the program, are to get easier access to help and benefits. The party supports the federal government's planned Kindergrundsicherung (basic child benefit).

The Greens want more women in technical and scientific jobs, in professorships and among founders. At the same time, care professions are to be upgraded and more boys and men recruited for childcare and nursing.

More women should work in technology and science. At universities, every second professor should be a woman. Women who start a business should get more help. More men should work in nursing and childcare.

The share of female professors is to rise from 28 to 50 percent, partly through incentives in the higher education pact. Female founders are to get better advice and easier access to capital; the party supports federal rules on maternity protection for the self-employed. Schools and universities are to expand STEM offerings, and chambers and employer associations are to reach out to young women. Gender research in technical fields is supported. Political decisions are to follow gender mainstreaming and the budget gender budgeting, meaning spending is checked for its effects on the sexes.

The Greens want to fully implement the Istanbul Convention and expand support services for women affected by violence across Hesse. An emergency program is to create 300 additional family places in shelters and transitional housing.

Many women and children face violence at home. The Greens want more places in women's shelters. An emergency program should quickly add 300 places for families. Counseling centers and helplines should also get more money.

The state, the federal government and municipalities are to jointly provide reliable funding for shelters, women's helplines, and counseling and intervention centers. The number of shelter places is to follow the recommendations of the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty on violence against women. Barriers to access such as refugee status, residence restrictions or lack of entitlement to benefits are to be removed. Specialized services are planned for young women, migrant women, queer people and men affected by violence. Case conferences are to bring together police, public agencies, prosecutors, intervention centers and offender programs.

The Greens want killings of women because of their gender, and attempts at them, to be listed separately in crime statistics. A Hesse femicide study is to accompany this and provide a basis for prevention. Prevention work and offender programs are also to be expanded.

Some women are killed because they are women. This is called femicide. The Greens want to count these crimes separately. A study should show how to prevent them. Work with offenders should also be expanded.

The state action plan on domestic violence is to be evaluated and the model project "Hessen gegen Ehrgewalt" (Hesse against honor-based violence) strengthened. The party wants to further develop the state government's action plans against hostility toward women, gay and trans people. Gender equality is to be part of the education plans for all age groups, along with more age-appropriate programs on sexualized violence and nonviolent conflict resolution. Professionals who work with victims are to receive regular statewide training. Staff in refugee accommodation are to be trained in violence protection concepts.

The Greens want rape victims everywhere in Hesse to get quick medical help and have evidence secured without having to file a police report. At the federal level, the party wants to push for a reform of the rape provision in criminal law so that offenders can be convicted more easily.

After a rape, victims need help fast. The Greens want this help to be available all over Hesse. Doctors should secure evidence even without a police report. The law on rape should also change. Courts should then be able to convict offenders more easily.

The plan is for easily accessible acute medical care throughout the state. Evidence is to be secured confidentially and independently of a police report, and this is to be open to all victims. According to the platform, reforming Section 177 of the Criminal Code is meant to make convictions of sex offenders easier and protect victims better. The party intends to work for this at all political levels.

The Greens want to take action against human trafficking and better protect women from prostitution driven by poverty or coercion. Those who want to leave prostitution are to receive counseling, medical care and courses. Projects against female genital mutilation are to keep receiving funding.

The Greens want to fight human trafficking. Women should not be forced into prostitution. Women who want to stop should get help. This includes counseling, health care and language courses. They should also get help finding housing and work.

Women leaving prostitution are to get counseling, health care, and language, integration and further training courses. Health checks are to be free and easy to access. Further programs are to help with finding accommodation, food and work outside prostitution. Organizations engaged in prevention and intervention regarding female genital mutilation will continue to be funded.

The Greens want to protect Jews and Jewish sites and fight antisemitism as a societal problem. Antisemitic crimes and incidents are to be recorded, and reporting and counseling centers funded. Education and prevention programs are to be supported.

Jewish people should be able to live safely in Hesse. The Greens want to protect Jewish places. They want to fight hatred of Jews. Attacks and incidents should be counted. There should be money for reporting centers and advice.

The benchmark is the working definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Incidents that are not criminal offenses are to be recorded as well. Through education and public outreach, the Greens want to address antisemitic conspiracy myths and the long history of hostility toward Jews. They also want to examine whether new holidays and remembrance days could strengthen awareness of democracy.

The Greens want to develop an action plan against racism for all of Hesse together with researchers and associations. They want to raise awareness that certain terms are hurtful and discriminatory. According to the platform, the goal is a diverse and inclusive society.

The Greens want to act against racism. They want to make a plan for all of Hesse. Researchers and associations should help. People should understand that some words hurt others. All people should have equal rights and respect.

As an example of hurtful language, the platform names the N-word, which it says should not be used. Initiatives at the state and local level working on this issue are to receive support. The Greens also want to work toward the goals of the UN Decade for People of African Descent.