2008 Hate Crime Survey

2008 Hate Crime Survey About Human Rights First HRF’s Fighting Discrimination Program Human Rights First believes that building respect for human The Fighting Discrimination Program has been working since rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which 2002 to reverse the rising tide of antisemitic, racist, anti- every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, Muslim, anti-immigrant, and homophobic violence and other intolerance, and violence. bias crime in Europe, the Russian Federation, and North America. We report on the reality of violence driven by Human Rights First protects people at risk: refugees who flee discrimination, and work to strengthen the response of persecution, victims of crimes against humanity or other mass governments to combat this violence. We advance concrete, human rights violations, victims of discrimination, those whose practical recommendations to improve hate crimes legislation rights are eroded in the name of national security, and human and its implementation, monitoring and public reporting, the rights advocates who are targeted for defending the rights of training of police and prosecutors, the work of official anti- others. These groups are often the first victims of societal discrimination bodies, and the capacity of civil society instability and breakdown; their treatment is a harbinger of organizations and international institutions to combat violent wider-scale repression. Human Rights First works to prevent hate crimes. For more information on the program, visit violations against these groups and to seek justice and www.humanrightsfirst.org/discrimination or email accountability for violations against them. [email protected]. Human Rights First is practical and effective. We advocate for Acknowledgements change at the highest levels of national and international policymaking. We seek justice through the courts. We raise Human Rights First gratefully acknowledges the generous awareness and understanding through the media. We build support of the Ford Foundation, the Righteous Persons coalitions among those with divergent views. And we mobilize Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, and the Richard and people to act. Rhoda Goldman Fund. Human Rights First is a nonprofit, nonpartisan international This report was prepared by Tad Stahnke, Paul LeGendre, human rights organization based in New York and Washington Innokenty Grekov, Michael McClintock, Alexis Aronowitz, and D.C. To maintain our independence, we accept no government Vanessa Petti. funding. This report is available for free online at www.humanrightsfirst.org © 2008 Human Rights First. All Rights Reserved. Headquarters Washington D.C. Office 333 Seventh Avenue 100 Maryland Avenue, NE 13th Floor Suite 500 New York, NY 10001-5108 Washington, DC 20002-5625 Tel.: 212.845.5200 Tel: 202.547.5692 Fax: 212.845.5299 Fax: 202.543.5999 www.humanrightsfirst.org 2008 Hate Crime Survey Table of Contents Preface ...............................................................................................................1 Overview..............................................................................................................3 Recommendations for Governments......................................................................7 Recommendations for all Governments of the 56 Participating States of the OSCE .....................7 Ten-Point Plan for Combating Hate Crimes......................................................................................................... 7 Recommendations for the Government of the United States........................................................9 The Reality of Hate Crime ...................................................................................11 Violence Based on Racism and Xenophobia .............................................................................13 Antisemitic Violence .................................................................................................................39 Violence Against Muslims.........................................................................................................65 Violence Based on Religious Intolerance...................................................................................85 Violence Against Roma...........................................................................................................105 Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Bias..............................................125 Government Responses to Hate Crime...............................................................151 Systems of Monitoring and Reporting .....................................................................................153 The Framework of Criminal Law...............................................................................................167 The Fighting Discrimination Website..................................................................181 2008 Hate Crime Survey — 1 Preface Human Rights First’s 2008 Hate Crime Survey—our Although not included in this compilation, the 2008 second annual study—is a review of the rising tide of Hate Crime Survey also includes separate sections on hate crime covering the region from the Far East of the the Russian Federation and Ukraine, where hate crime Russian Federation and the Central Asian states across has been on the rise and where governments have not Europe to North America: the 56 participating states of responded adequately. No state is immune from the the Organization for Security and Cooperation in prejudice and bigotry that stand behind bias-motivated Europe (OSCE). violence. A Country Panorama section profiles hate crime cases from 30 countries and includes in-depth Human Rights First continues to document and analyze descriptions of hate crime in France, Germany, and the the reality of violent hate crime. We have reviewed United Kingdom—three countries where considerable available reports on violence motivated by prejudice efforts have been undertaken to combat hate crimes. and hatred, including the findings of the few official Similarly, there has generally been a vigorous govern- monitoring systems that provide meaningful statistical ment response to hate crime in the United States, even information. This data—combined with the findings of though the problem continues. In a separate substan- nongovernmental monitoring organizations as well as tive section on the U.S., we outline recommendations to media reporting—provides important insights into the enhance the government’s response. These sections are nature and incidence of violent hate crimes. available at the Fighting Discrimination website: Our aim is to raise the profile of these insidious crimes www.humanrightsfirst.org/discrimination. and the challenges they pose to societies that are Human Rights First is concerned that governments are becoming increasingly diverse. Hate crimes are everyday not doing enough to combat violent hate crimes. In this occurrences that result in broken windows and burnt out survey, we offer a Ten-Point Plan for governments to homes, mental distress and bodily harm—sometimes strengthen their response. In particular, we are calling fatal. Hate crimes threaten whole communities who on governments to establish systems of official identify with the victim based on race, religion, or other monitoring and data collection to fill the hate crime attributes, leaving many to live in fear and alienated information gap. We are likewise urging them to improve from the larger society. This report seeks to overcome criminal law and law enforcement procedures required official indifference and indecision in the fight against to combat hate crimes. Stronger laws that expressly such crime. address violent hate crimes are necessary to more In the first part of this report, we examine six facets of effectively deter, detect, and hold perpetrators hate crime in sections on Violence Based on Racism accountable. International organizations also have an and Xenophobia, Antisemitic Violence, Violence important role to play, and this Survey provides Against Muslims, Violence Based on Religious Recommendations for Strengthening the OSCE, in Intolerance, Violence Against Roma, and Violence particular by advancing the organization’s tolerance and Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Bias. nondiscrimination agenda—of which combating hate In the second part, we assess government responses to crime is an important component violent hate crimes in sections on Systems of Monitor- ing and Reporting and The Framework of Criminal Law. A Human Rights First Report 2008 Hate Crime Survey — 3 Overview European and North American governments are failing There were moderate to high rises in the overall to keep pace with a wave of violent hate crime that recorded numbers of violent hate crimes motivated continues to rise across the region. Racism, xenopho- by racism and xenophobia in 2006 and 2007 in bia, antisemitism, anti-Muslim and anti-Roma hatred, Finland, Ireland, the Slovak Republic, Sweden, religious intolerance, homophobia: the list of biases that the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the fuel these crimes is a long one. Attacks range from absence of official data, information from nongov- lethal assaults to threats and harassment to vandalism ernmental monitors show rising levels of racist and desecration of religious and community prop- violence in Greece, Italy, the Russian Federation, erty. The perpetrators are individuals

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