A comprehensive approach to combat racism and hate crime National plan to combat racism, similar forms of hostility and hate crime Production: Government Offices of Sweden Print: Elanders 2017 Photos: p. 1 Anders Wiklund/TT p. 5 Kristian Pohl/Government Offices of Sweden p. 8 Rania Rönntoft/Scandinav p. 13, 19, 29, 32, 41 och 46 Martina Huber/Government Offices of Sweden p. 24 Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden Read, download and share this National plan at government.se. A comprehensive approach to combat racism and hate crime National plan to combat racism, similar forms of hostility and hate crime Foreword Sweden is to be a country free of Throughout history Sweden has racism and hate crime. With this been a country in which a multi- National plan, the Government is tude of viewpoints, opinions and taking a comprehensive approach to perspectives have been expressed the important work on these issues and coexisted. This means that carried out by a number of agencies, Swedishness is the sum of a wealth regional and local actors and civil of different elements. Sami, Af- society organisations. The plan is a ro-Swedish, Roma, Muslim and tool for preventing and combating Jewish, along with many other com- racism and polarisation in society ponents, are all part of what Swed- and paving the way for a cohesive ishness is. At the same time, racism Sweden characterised by solidarity. and attitudes derived from racial bio logy have existed in Sweden for Racism creates a breeding ground a long time, and during particular for hate crime. It affects all of us. eras have also been State-sanctioned Combating racism and hate crime policy. demands a holistic approach. A Na- tional plan to combat racism, simi- Trends in today’s Sweden are com- lar forms of hostility and hate crime plex. On the one hand, surveys will give Sweden this opportunity. show that support for openness and This plan will make actors better inclusion is increasing over time, placed to work together, enabling but on the other hand, and at the initiatives to be followed up and same time, many people are wit- work to be developed as a whole. nessing a more hate-filled social cli- The National plan sets out five stra- mate in which racism is showing its tegic areas on which the Govern- face ever more clearly. Commitment ment will particularly focus in its to the equal value of all people and upcoming work. equal access to rights and oppor- 4 A comprehensive approach to combat racism and hate crime tunities has been high in Sweden every day, in every part of our so- and remains so today. As increas- ciety. ing numbers of people testify to an increasingly harsh social climate, Because Sweden is all of us we need to seize on the power and – together. opportunity for change inherent in this commitment. Young people are a particular target group in this re- Alice Bah Kuhnke spect. Minister for Culture and Democracy The fight for inclusion and against Anders Ygeman racism is not a single project, nor is Minister for Home Affairs it a one-off initiative. It is a contin- uous, broad effort. We all have a re- Morgan Johansson sponsibility to engage in this fight Minister for Justice and Migration Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Justice 5 Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................. 9 Objective of the plan and follow-up ................................9 Structure of the plan .......................................................9 Terms ............................................................................ 10 Links between the National plan to combat racism, similar forms of hostility and hate crime and other policy areas .................................................... 12 International undertakings and the work of international bodies ................................................... 21 2. Racism, similar forms of hostility and hate crime in Sweden today ...........................................25 Attitude and experience surveys .................................... 25 Hate crime statistics ......................................................28 Status reports and proposals from civil society actors .... 32 Status reports and proposals from Government bodies .. 37 Status reports and proposals from international monitoring bodies ......................................................... 38 About the different forms of racism and similar forms of hostility in particular ..................................... 40 3. Measures: Five strategic areas .............................49 More knowledge, education and research ......................50 Improved coordination and monitoring .........................55 Civil society: greater support and more in-depth dialogue .......................................................... 58 Strengthening preventive measures online .................... 60 A more active legal system .............................................62 Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Justice 7 1. Introduction Objective of the plan and The progress of work towards the follow-up objective must be followed up and The overarching objective of this analysed on a regular basis. Follow- plan is strategic, effective and coher- up is to be supplemented by recurr- ent work to combat racism, similar ing comparable descriptions of the forms of hostility and hate crime in situation in this area, providing an Sweden. indication of whether the initiatives are sufficient and adequate. Con- The plan is to form a basis and a stantly monitoring progress and focus for work to combat racism and identifying shortcomings as well as hate crime in the particularly im- improvements will help to develop portant strategic areas identified by the plan further on. the Government: More knowledge, education and research; Improved Structure of the plan coordination and monitoring; Civil The plan comprises three parts: 1. society: greater support and more Introduction, 2. Racism, similar in-depth dia logue; Strengthening forms of hostility and hate crime in preventive measures online; and A today’s Sweden, and 3. Measures: more active legal system. The plan Five strategic areas. sets out a structure for coordina- tion and follow-up which lays the This first part presents the content groundwork for long-term strate- of the plan in an overarching man- gic work. ner, including the objective of the plan and the links between the plan The measures in the plan are to be and other policy areas and topics. linked to objectives laid down by the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) The second part presents an over- for the different areas addressed in view of the accounts and comments the plan. in various reports, mainly by agen- Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Justice 9 cies and international monitoring bodies, and of testimonies received by the Government in dialogues The plan is to with representatives of organisations representing groups exposed to rac- form a foundation ism and hate crime. and a focus for The third part sets out the strategic work to combat areas that have been identified as being crucial to attaining the plan’s racism and hate objective. Under each such strategic area, the main problems seen by the crime within the Government are set out, along with the needs for initiatives identified particularly by the Government and the initia- important tives that are currently in progress and those that are planned. strategic areas Terms identified by The plan consistently uses the terms the Government. racism, similar forms of hostility, Afrophobia, anti-Semitism, anti- Gypsyism, Islamophobia, racism against Sami people, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and hate crime. Definitions of these terms are subject to constant development and discussion. The sense in which the Government is using these terms in this plan is set out below. 10 A comprehensive approach to combat racism and hate crime Racism tural racism” in the sense that rac- When the Government uses the ist actions are not always based on term “racism” in this plan, this an individual’s political convictions refers to opinions that people are but can also be unconscious. This essentially different from each other means that racism, in various forms, due to assumptions on race, nation- exists as part of the structures of al, cultural or ethnic origin, reli- society. This has the effect that peo- gion, skin colour or other similar ple’s access to rights and opportu- circumstance, and that they there- nities, power and influence differs fore can or should be treated in dif- due to others’ conscious or uncon- ferent ways. Viewing cultures as un- scious assumptions about the group changeable and incompatible and to which an individual belongs. A individuals’ cultural identity as un- structural perspective also means changeable and inherited, as well as that individual cases of discrimina- considering that different cultures tion or hate crime must not be seen are unable to coexist have come to as isolated incidents but as part of be expressions of racism today. This a broader context. In the same way can be expressed by individuals as that racism is structural, differenc- well as groups being seen as alien or es based on sex, disability and sex- undesirable in a society. Racism can uality are structural too. These dif- lead to actions, such as hate crime ferences can interact and reinforce or discrimination. In the past, racist each other. Like work for gender views have drawn more on biology equality, LGBTQ rights or access- than is currently the case. However, ibility, work