SSW on equality and diversity

The SSW wants minority and regional languages to be visible and usable in everyday life. More bilingual signs are to be put up, and the languages are to be usable in court without disadvantages.

The SSW wants more signs in two languages. For example in German and Danish. People should be able to speak their minority language in court. This should not cost them anything.

Signs, signposts and information boards are to show Danish, Frisian or Low German alongside German, depending on the region. The platform mainly names public and publicly funded buildings, state offices, monuments and highways. In court, parties are to be able to use a minority language without bearing costs for it. The SSW bases this on a de facto right of the Danish minority and the Frisian ethnic group to have their languages visible. It also says multilingualism makes the state attractive to visitors and foreign companies.

The SSW wants to strengthen protection for Sinti and Roma at the European, federal and state levels. EU countries are to make binding commitments, and the federal government is to create an office against antiziganism. In the state, the minority's cultural work and educational support are to keep receiving funding.

The SSW wants to protect Sinti and Roma better. Antiziganism means hostility toward Sinti and Roma. There should be a federal commissioner against it. The EU should also do more. Helpers should support the minority's children in kindergarten, school and job training.

EU member states are to agree on binding rules to protect Sinti and Roma, and the fight against antiziganism is to be part of all EU strategies. At the federal level, the SSW wants a commissioner against antiziganism, with the remit of the state's minority commissioner widened to match. The state is to keep funding the cultural work of the state association of German Sinti and Roma. The mediators who accompany children and young people from the minority in schools are to stay and also work in kindergartens and vocational training in the future.

The SSW wants to make equal funding for the Danish minority's institutions permanent and secure it by law and contract. Municipalities, the state and the federal government are each to carry their share. In the party's view, this funding is a precondition for these institutions to exist.

The Danish minority has its own kindergartens, schools and care services. The SSW wants them to get as much money as others. Towns, the state and the federal government should pay for this. This should be firmly fixed in rules.

Municipalities are to contribute to equal funding for Danish kindergartens, youth facilities and schools, and this is to be laid down in law. For the Danish health service and care facilities, municipalities and the state are to pay their share. The federal government, the state and municipalities are to keep supporting Danish cultural institutions financially. The state is also to conclude funding agreements with all Danish and Frisian associations and with the associations of the Sinti and Roma.

The SSW wants to secure women's shelters and counseling centers for women and girls and expand them according to need, in order to meet the Istanbul Convention. Support and counseling services for men are also to grow.

The SSW wants to keep and expand women's shelters. Women find protection from violence there. There should also be more counseling centers for women and girls. Men should get more counseling too.

The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe treaty on protecting women from violence. The program considers funding from the state and the federal government indispensable for the expansion. Services for men are likewise to be based on need.

The SSW demands that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities be implemented consistently at every level of government, with those affected involved. This includes an allowance for deaf people, more accessible housing, and accessible medical practices.

The SSW wants more rights for people with disabilities in daily life. Deaf people should get their own allowance from the state. There should be more homes without barriers. Doctors' offices should be open to everyone too.

The allowance for deaf people is meant to let them pay for things like sign language interpreters. Accessibility rules in building codes are to hold despite the housing shortage, and federal money for social housing is to rise and be earmarked for accessible construction. Independent participation counseling is to be available everywhere, including home visits. Accessibility would become a condition for licensing medical practices, enforced with state aid and sanctions if needed. The SSW wants lasting funding for violence prevention in disability care facilities and wants augmentative communication included in training.

The SSW wants women and men to be paid equally for their work and aims to close the gender pay gap. People who have reduced their hours should get a right to return to full-time work. Gender quotas should also be met and more women brought into leadership positions.

The SSW wants equal pay for women and men. People who work part time should be allowed to go back to full time. The SSW says this helps many women. More women should become managers.

The party calls equality of all genders a principle of its politics and looks to the Scandinavian countries as a model. In the platform's view, the current rules on part-time work are a particular problem for women in the labor market. Participation in politics, society and the economy should not depend on gender or sexual orientation.

The SSW backs repealing Section 219a of the Criminal Code and wants to take abortion out of criminal law. The current rules would be replaced by a law on the Danish model that provides a general right to abortion until the end of the twelfth week. Mandatory counseling would be replaced by a voluntary service.

The SSW no longer wants abortion to be part of criminal law. Pregnant people should have a right to an abortion up to week 12. Denmark is the model. Counseling should be voluntary. Doctors should be allowed to inform openly about abortions.

The new law would set out the rights and duties of pregnant people, doctors and medical facilities; abortions after the deadline would also follow Danish law. The party justifies reforming Section 218 with self-determination and freedom of choice. It calls for more and better medical care, free choice of method, and facilities close to home. Pregnant people should be protected from harassment on their way to clinics and practices.

The SSW wants to end legal disadvantages for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and trans people. The Basic Law's ban on discrimination should be extended to cover sexual identity, and same-sex couples should have the same rights in matters of parenthood. It also wants a joint federal-state program against anti-queer violence.

The SSW wants equal rights for queer people. The constitution should clearly protect them from unfair treatment. Lesbian and gay couples should have the same rights as parents. There should be a program against violence toward queer people. Trans people should get better health care.

The party wants to initiate the change to Article 3 through the Bundesrat. The federal-state program would cover prevention, training for police and the judiciary, and support for victim assistance services. For trans people with statutory health insurance, the guidelines should be revised so that gender-affirming surgery is paid for, medication is adequately provided and counseling is guaranteed. Gender and sexual diversity should become more visible everywhere to foster acceptance.

The SSW wants parliaments to have equal numbers of women and men and sees the way politics is organized as one cause of the imbalance. Lawmakers with a newborn should be able to hand their seat temporarily to the next person on the list. The state should also practice gender budgeting.

The SSW wants as many women as men in parliaments. Politics should fit better with family life. Lawmakers with a baby should be able to take a break. Another person from the party list takes over during that time. The state should spend its money fairly for all genders.

The party suggests rethinking the times at which committees meet and making day-to-day politics more family-friendly. Parental leave should be shared fairly between mothers and fathers and should not harm careers. State investments and grants should be awarded according to gender-equity criteria, and decisions should take into account their effects on the genders. Political goals on equality should be fixed and verifiable.

The SSW demands that everyone affected by violence get an enforceable nationwide right to help. Women's shelters and counseling centers for women should be adequately funded and expanded. The party also wants to expand and permanently secure services for crime victims.

The SSW wants this: Anyone who suffers violence should have a right to help. This should apply in all of Germany. Women's shelters and counseling centers should get enough money. There should be more protection services for men too. Victims of crime should get more help.

The investment program "Gemeinsam gegen Gewalt an Frauen" (Together Against Violence Toward Women) should continue beyond 2023 to fund new construction, conversion and expansion of women's shelters. Specialist counseling centers should be better equipped so they can also give technical help to victims of digital violence. For men's protection projects, the party wants to invest more in specialist counseling and coaching. Victim support should involve existing organizations such as the "Weißer Ring."

The SSW wants the state to actively promote participation for everyone and ensure no one is disadvantaged because of origin, gender, religion, age or sexual identity. It calls for actively anti-racist policy and backs the action plans against racism.

The SSW wants all people to have equal rights. No one should be treated worse because of skin color, origin or religion. The state should do more against racism. There should be more counseling centers.

According to the platform, racism, antisemitism and hostility toward Muslims also exist in the mainstream of society. The SSW calls for more research on racism, more civil-society counseling centers and stronger self-organized groups of those affected. It also wants better prevention and teaching material on tolerance and human rights, including for people outside the education system. Schleswig-Holstein's colonial legacy should get more attention, with open-ended local debate about the names of streets and squares. Tolerance and equal rights should also shape international cooperation.

The SSW wants Jewish people to live safely and practice their faith without fear. The office of the state commissioner for Jewish life and against antisemitism should continue, and educational work against antisemitism should be strengthened.

The SSW wants Jewish people to live in safety. They should practice their faith without fear. The state should keep a commissioner against hatred of Jews. School classes should keep visiting memorial sites.

The platform describes Jewish life as an established part of society and wants to support Jewish culture and make it more visible. Contact with the Jewish communities is to be deepened. School class visits to memorial sites should continue to receive funding. The SSW opposes every form of antisemitism.