Forced Loss of Housing — (Preventing) Evictions
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Forced eviction is the most violent type of displacement: more than 27,300 homes were evicted in Germany in 2022; and even that only documents the evictions that were carried out, leaving forced removals unexamined. Before an eviction takes place, the future of the tenants concerned is decided in court. How does an eviction action proceed in court and what is the logic behind it? What does the court case mean in concrete terms for those affected? What options are available in which escalation stages of the threat of losing your home? Urban geographer Dr. Sarah Klosterkamp (Institute for Human Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt) will provide an insight into this and discuss the concrete options for activists.
This will be followed by a moderated exchange format in the second part of the workshop, which will be offered by and for activists working in the field of (preventing) forced evictions. What can we learn from research for our urban policy practice? How do we deal specifically with the care of those affected? What role do we play as activists in such a situation?
We discuss this and more in an open exchange format:
- How do people who are to be evicted find you?
- What is the most common reason for a forced eviction?
- Which people usually come to you?
- What kind of support can you specifically offer as a group?
- What strategies do you use before the eviction (political, legal, public pressure)?
- How do you organize the division of tasks when accompanying a forced eviction?
- How do you communicate with the person concerned?
- How do you deal with your role as a politically active group that (largely) performs social work?
- How do you deal with the emotional situation (people who are threatened by an eviction are usually in a very tense overall situation, and this is inevitably transferred to the people who have direct contact)?
We want to answer these questions in a relaxed exchange in order to jointly develop strategies for sustainable and solidary support for forced evictions. The Initiative Zwangsräumung Verhindern Berlin (Prevent Forced Eviction) will also be present.
