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Siding with Victims of Right-Wing Violence
Based in Potsdam, Germany, Opferperspektive (»Victims’ Perspective«) is a charitable association that stands up for victims of right-wing violence.
… so that every human being, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious backgrounds, sexual orientation, or worldview can participate equally in the community and move about freely and without fear (Opferperspektive)
Week after week people are beaten and humiliated by right-wing aggressors. Victims find themselves torn from their daily lives, injured and afraid. This type of violence normally affects those belonging to minority groups — groups already suffering from discrimination in society. Aggressors refuse to recognize their right to life and residency here in Germany. These aggressors, the self-declared »enforcers of popular will,« are fueled by the spread of misanthropic attitudes in society and in political discussions.
Monitoring
Opfersperpektive researches and systematically records cases of right-wing violence in the state of Brandenburg. It publishes a running chronology of right-wing violence as well as statistics and analyses of right-wing trends. Through a nationwide traveling exhibition and numerous events and seminars, the association also promotes the discussion of right-wing violence.
Counseling for Victims
The association provides counseling throughout the state of Brandenburg for those who have become victims of right-wing violence, their friends and family, and the witnesses. Opferperspektive takes sides in counseling: the goal is to help individuals made victims by right-wing aggressors overcome the aftermath of violence and accompany them through this process.
Anti-Discrimination — Pro-Human Rights
Through monitoring and victim counseling, Opferperspektive also advocates socio-political interventions — processes that serve to help promote community solidarity with the victims. This serves the purpose of marginalizing right-wing extremism and violence. To achieve this, citizens, as well as institutions and media, must take a clear stand for human rights by demonstrating their solidarity with the victims. Additionally, each group that suffers discrimination and violence as a social minority must be encouraged and supported. Opferperspektive addresses right-wing violence through the victims’ point of view and seeks to deal with it in its social context.
Opferperspektive
The association was founded in 1998 by antifascist activists in an effort to support victims of right-wing violence through action and solidarity. This initiative also worked to combat widespread trivialization and censoring of public debates about right-wing violence. The first victims’ outreach center in Germany stemmed from this initiative in 2000. The association was awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal from the International League of Human Rights in 2000 for its pioneering work, and again in 2003 with the prize »Promoting Tolerance and Democracy.«
(OPP)
