Europe Refugee Crisis Update: Danish Clubs Reportedly Using Discriminatory Language

Amid reports from women in at least three Danish cities who said they felt uncomfortable because of the way male asylum-seekers and refugees behaved at bars and nightclubs, some drinking establishments have implemented new rules to keep out guests who cannot communicate with staff, the Local reported Monday. Other establishments have reportedly increased security in response to the harassment reports.

A nightclub in Sønderborg has barred anyone from entering unless they can prove they speak Danish, English or German, and other nightclubs are reportedly considering implementing similar policies, according to the industry group Danmarks Restauranter og Cafeer, the Local reported. However, the policy has been criticized as discriminatory.

“If you have a group of guests that comes in and displays threatening behavior, then it presents some security-related challenges if you cannot enter into a dialogue,” the organization’s managing director, Torben Hoffmann Rosenstock, told TV2, the Local reported.

Denmark also made headlines last week when a proposal for a law that would allow the government to seize refugees’ valuables to finance their asylum was reportedly deeply misunderstood.

"No, we are not going to take the jewelry away from people," Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told CNN last week. "I mean, this is outrageous. We would never do this.”

Ellemann-Jensen, however, did not deny the core of the controversial bill, in which refugees seeking asylum in Denmark would be forced to contribute some of their wealth to the Danish government.

In comparison to its neighbors Germany and Sweden, Denmark received only a smart portion of Europe’s refugee flow last year, according to the Associated Press. Roughly 20,000 applied for asylum in Denmark, which is a sharp contrast to the 1.1 million who applied for Germany and the 163,000 in Sweden.

“Denmark must become significantly less attractive for asylum-seekers," said Immigration Minister Inger Stoejberg, the Associated Press reported.