sign in sign up
<<
Home , Hate group

Racist and Xenophobic How to Recognize Racist and Xenophobic Hate Crimes

Hate crimes motivated by and can take a range of towards the protected forms, targeting people from diverse groups across the OSCE region. characteristic(s) during the crime. While some communities are particularly vulnerable, any ethnic or racial group can be the target of racism. The nature of these crimes What Are Racist and Xenophobic Hate ranges from graffiti to murder. Racist and xenophobic hate crimes Crimes? send a message of exclusion to victims and their communities, and Racist and xenophobic hate to as a whole. The existence of such crimes also underscores crimes are criminal offences wider trends of intolerance towards other groups. Everyone has a role motivated by the of racism or xenophobia. Such to play in addressing this and all forms of intolerance. This factsheet crimes target people, property, highlights the impact of such crimes and provides guidance on or associations connected to people or groups due to identifying racist and xenophobic hate crimes. their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, language, migration status, etc. The What Is Hate Crime? manifests itself either in the selection of the target (e.g., Criminal Offence a cultural club frequented + Bias Motivation by migrants) or in racist and = Hate Crime xenophobic hostility expressed during the crime. Racist and • Hate crimes comprise two xenophobic hate crimes elements: a criminal offence can target both majority and and a bias motivation. minority groups. • First, hate crimes require a base offence to have Racist and xenophobic occurred. In other words, hate crimes may also target the act committed must people or property due to constitute an offence under their association, professional Nyamusi Nyambok from the Afro-Swedish National Association criminal law. If there is no affiliation with, or activism (Afrosvenskarnas Riksorganisation) speaking during ODIHR’s 2018 Human underlying crime, there is no on addressing racism Dimension Implementation Meeting working session on combating racism, hate crime. and xenophobia, such as xenophobia, intolerance and in Warsaw, 20 September 2018. (OSCE/Piotr Markowski) • The second element of civil society organizations a hate crime is that the working with refugees and perpetrator must commit the other migrants or racialized criminal act with a particular minorities. bias motive or motives (such as a bias against a Any individual or group, victim’s , , regardless of their race or ethnicity, colour and/or ethnicity, can be a victim their ). The presence of racist and xenophobic of a bias motive is what hate crime. However, racist differentiates hate crimes and xenophobic hate crime from other crimes. disproportionately affects • A hate crime has taken minority communities of colour, place when a perpetrator e.g., people of African or Asian has intentionally targeted descent and Roma and Sinti. an individual or property Hundreds of participants at a youth lead anti-Asian march in because of one or more Racist and xenophobic hate San Francisco, CA, 26 March 2021. (Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com) protected characteristics, crimes can take many different or expressed hostility forms. Victims may be targeted because of the colour of their xenophobic hate incident better understand the extent guaranteeing the provision skin, their ethnic background, or crime? Did the property to which women and men of relevant protection and or speaking a foreign language. damage include racist are affected by such crimes, support to each victim. Failure epithets? and to identify appropriate to effectively investigate Women and men experience • What was the nature of the counter measures. When hate crimes – including racist and xenophobic hate violence? Were symbols investigating and addressing those motivated by racism crimes in different ways, representing certain racial/ racist and xenophobic hate and xenophobia – can have highlighting the need to take a ethnic groups targeted? crimes, it is important to a detrimental effect on victims holistic and multi-dimensional • Was the victim “visibly consider the possible multiple and society at large. approach to addressing such identifiable” as belonging to identities of the victim (such as crimes by considering the a particular racial or ethnic religion, ethnicity and gender), Many civil society groups multiple identities of the victims. group? Is the suspect a as this can have significant countering racism and member of a different ethnic ramifications for individual xenophobia have recognised Since 2002, OSCE participating or racial group to that of the victims. the importance of hate crime States have committed victim? monitoring, including as themselves to address racism, • Was the victim a refugee or Reporting, Preventing an advocacy tool, and are xenophobia, discrimination and another type of migrant? and Responding to developing their monitoring intolerance, and to prevent and Was the target associated Racist and Xenophobic capacities through outreach respond to hate crimes. with accommodating or Hate Crimes and online reporting. providing for refugees and How to Recognize other migrants, such as a Racist and xenophobic hate To be effective, police Racist and Xenophobic shelter? crimes, like all hate crimes, are responses and government Hate Crimes • Does the suspect belong to under-reported by victims and policies to counter racist and a hate group? These could under-recorded by authorities, xenophobic hate crime must There are a number of include different far-right for numerous reasons. This be evidence-based and draw indicators that can help to groups or groups advocating makes it difficult to obtain on official hate crime data, identify racist and xenophobic racist and xenophobic an accurate picture of the as well as on reports from bias in a potential hate crime. intolerance. problem. civil society and international Such indicators, known as • Were drawings or graffiti organizations. Increased public “bias indicators”, can prompt of symbols, such as a Nazi Effective access to justice awareness of hate crime, hate law enforcement authorities to symbol or a Celtic Cross, remains a critical challenge for crime recording by states, investigate a crime as a racist among others, found at victims, and one that OSCE measures to encourage and xenophobic hate crime, the scene of the crime or participating States need to reporting by victims, and enabling a tailored response. incident? address. Governments have civil society monitoring and • Did the incident occur on a a central role in ensuring reporting will all help reveal the The following questions significant date, either for the access to justice, from the scope of the problem in more can help identify racist and perpetrator or the affected initial assessment of victims’ detail, enabling policymakers to xenophobic hate crimes: communities, whether for needs by police officers to identify appropriate responses. historical, political or religious • Do the victims or witnesses reasons? perceive the incident to have • Did the incident refer to or Examples of Racist and Xenophobic been motivated by racism take place in an area of an Hate Crimes and xenophobia? ongoing or past inter-ethnic • Were there comments, conflict? • A Black female legislator was killed when she was shot at written statements, gestures • Is there any other clear and stabbed. Racist chants were made during the murder. or graffiti that indicate bias? motive? The lack of other • A Senegalese man was shot at by perpetrators riding This can include the use motives is also a reason to a scooter in the street at night. The victim suffered leg of racist and xenophobic consider a bias motivation. injuries, was hospitalized, and required surgery. insults, tropes, • Several female asylum seekers wearing headscarves and . Racist and xenophobic hate were repeatedly subjected to xenophobic insults and had • Was the targeted property a crimes should be monitored objects thrown at them. The incidents intensified during the place of professional, legal and recorded as a separate Muslim holy month of Ramadan. or cultural significance, such category of crimes. Where • An ethnic Albanian boy was subjected to xenophobic and as an anti-racist association, a crime is committed with racist insults and pushed in front of a bus. a cultural club and/or multiple bias motives, each • The employees of several civil society organizations other places that may be of these must be working with migrants and refugees were threatened by a frequented by individuals recorded and addressed hate group. of a specific racial/ethnic during its investigation and • A memorial to the Roma victims of a World War II background or refugees and prosecution. Data on racist concentration camp was vandalized with anti-Roma other migrants? and xenophobic hate crimes inscriptions. Several refugees housed in refugee centres • Was the property previously should be collected and were threatened after converting to Christianity. targeted in a racist and disaggregated by gender to What Can You Do? ODIHR Guides on Hate Crime

There are a number of organizations that can assist victims of ODIHR has compiled good practices from OSCE participating hate crime. Equality bodies, ombuds institutions addressing States on addressing hate crime and has shared those through discrimination, and civil society organizations play a central role a number of publications, available on our website at: in countering hate crimes. They serve as vital links between www.osce.org/odihr/guides-related-to-hate-crime victims, communities and local authorities. You can contact your local support association or ombuds institution, as well ODIHR has been collecting and publishing data on anti-Christian as the organizations below, to find out more about racist and hate crimes since 2006. Find out more about anti-Christian hate xenophobic hate crimes. crimes and how civil society organizations can report incidents to ODIHR by visiting our dedicated hate crime reporting website at: • European Roma Rights Center (ERRC): www.errc.org www.hatecrime.osce.org

• European Network against Racism (ENAR): www.enar-eu.org

• Equinet – the European Network of Equality Bodies: www.equineteurope.org

• The International Ombudsman Institute (IOI): theioi.org

• The European Network of National Institutions (ENNHRI): ennhri.org

More information: OSCE Office for Democratic For detailed information about Institutions and Human Rights ODIHR’s hate crime initiatives and ul. Miodowa 10 to view its full range of resources 00-251 Warsaw and publications, please visit: Poland www.osce.org/odihr/tolerance Tel.: +48 22 520 0600 Fax: +48 22 520 0605 E-mail: [email protected]