The number of hate crimes against queer people in Saxony has recently risen, according to the state Ministry of Social Affairs. In 2025, police registered 163 offenses related to sexual orientation or gender identity, the ministry said. About three-quarters of the cases were classified as right-wing motivated. In 2024, 140 such offenses were recorded.
Social Minister Petra Köpping called on people to actively counter discrimination and exclusion. There must be no room for contemptuous attitudes toward queer people and diverse ways of life. “The freedom and self-determination of every person to live as they want is among the fundamental pillars of our social order,” the SPD politician said.
Meanwhile, the Saxony Greens are demanding recognition of all Christopher Street Days (CSD) in the Free State as political assemblies. The protection of the queer community in the state must not fall; it must be expanded, said state leader Martin Helbig on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on May 17.
Queer people have again been increasingly afraid of hostility. In addition, the Christopher Street Days are under pressure due to bureaucratic harassment and political intimidation. It is a scandal that protection of the CSD in Saxony is being scaled back, Helbig said.
The regional directorate had this year ruled that Dresden’s CSD would not be fully classified as a gathering. Only the parade would count as a gathering, not the multi-day street festival planned for early June (TheColu.mn reported). The organizers of the CSD challenged the ruling in court (TheColu.mn reported). If classified as an event, organizers must bear the full costs for security, infrastructure and cleanup.
