When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime

Contrary to the image of Sweden as a tolerant, colour-blind and non-racial country, which is based on the narrative of a country for instance associated with solidarity with the so-called Third World; in this article we argue that racial attributes, e.g. visible differences, account for people’s different life possibilities and circumstances in Swedish society. This article explores and discusses whether, and if so why, people who belong to the group that is categorised as “non-white”, with an emphasis on Afroswedes, and depicted as racially different, experience being targets of diverse variations of bias-based policing, harassment and hate crime. Theories relating to colonial stereotypes, racism, doing difference, the geography of hate, race/ethnicity profiling and intersectionality are used to analyse our material. Based on individual and focus group interviews with “non-whites”, this article discusses how visible differences are highlighted in different kinds of social contexts. The interview results show that people with dark skin are often targets of different kinds of private and public policing based on race- and ethnicity profiling that often occurs on or near borders/boundaries. When those who are targets of racial harassment and exclusion resist such treatment, e.g. by crossing borders/boundaries, they are at risk of becoming victims of hate crime

Sport, kropp, rörelse och demokrati

Diskussion af sammenhænge mellem sport, krop, bevægelse og demokrati med referencer til et interview med og en bogudgivelse af Henning Eichberg.

Sport, kropp, rörelse och demokrati

Diskussion af sammenhænge mellem sport, krop, bevægelse og demokrati med referencer til et interview med og en bogudgivelse af Henning Eichberg.

Hatbrott med främlingsfientliga och rasistiska motiv : en kunskapsöversikt

Kränkningar och hatbrott baserade på grupptillhörighet kan förutom offret själv även påverka offrets grupp, andra sårbara grupper samt samhället i stort. Syftet med den här kunskapsöversikten är att ge en överblick över den aktuella forsknin- gen om hatbrott både internationellt och i Sverige. Vårt fokus ligger på främlings- fientliga och rasistiska hatbrott (afrofobiska och antiromska hatbrott närmare bestämt) samt antisemitiska och islamofobiska hatbrott. I kunskapsöversikten di- skuteras även definitioner av hatbrottsbegreppet, lagstiftningens framväxt samt teorier om orsaker och beteenden vid hatbrott.Svensk lagstiftning innehåller inte någon egentlig juridisk definition av hatbrott. Det är med andra ord inte en egen brottsrubricering. År 1994 infördes emellertid en regel som anger att straffskärpning kan tillämpas om motivet är att kränka någon på grund av ras, hudfärg, nationellt eller etniskt ursprung, trosbekännelse eller (från 2002) sexuell läggning eller annan liknande omständighet (BrB 29 kap. 2§ 7p). Det är brott som faller inom ramen för denna straffskärpningsregel som kallas hatbrott i dagligt tal.Många forskare hävdar att ett hatbrott är värre än samma brott utan hatmotiv, eft- ersom hatbrottet ger en signal till gruppen som offret anses tillhöra att de ”ska veta sin plats” i hierarkin, och eftersom de psykiska skadorna kan bli långvariga för den utsatte eller för gruppen som påverkas indirekt. Hatbrott kan också leda till allmänt ökande motsättningar i samhället och motverka integrationen av mi- noritetsgrupper.Man kan ha olika åsikter om det är bra eller dåligt med straffskärpning för gärn- ingar med hatmotiv. Vi vill poängtera att straffskärpning markerar att det är oac- ceptabelt att begå brott mot personer därför att de tillhör eller uppfattas tillhöra en speciell grupp. Hårdare straff är ett sätt att rikta strålkastarna mot hatbrott som ett viktigt samhälleligt och demokratiskt problem.Det är osäkert hur många som utsätts för hatbrott. Brottsförebyggande rådet (Brå) anger i en rapport att drygt 6 200 hatbrott anmäldes 2014, en ökning med cirka700 fall jämfört med året före. Av dessa anmälningar hade 69 procent (drygt 4 310 anmälningar) ett främlingsfientligt eller rasistiskt motiv (varav underavdelningar- na afrofobiska utgjorde 25 procent och antiromska 7 procent). Åtta procent (490) av anmälningarna handlade om islamofobiska motiv och 4 procent (270) hade an- tisemitiska motiv. Både Brå och Nationella trygghetsundersökningen (NTU, 2014), som återkommande följer upp tillgänglig statistik över anmälda hatbrott, uppskat- tar att mörkertalet är stort.Många hatbrott anmäls antagligen inte. Den här kunskapsöversikten redogör för några förklaringar till detta: händelsen bedöms som trivial; den utsatta personen känner skam och vill inte figurera i en rättsprocess; den utsatta tror inte att en polisanmälan leder till något; offret lever som papperslös; man är rädd för ve- dergällning från förövare eller har bristande tillit till rättsväsendet.För att få individer och grupper med låg benägenhet att anmäla hatbrott att vilja kontakta polisen, är det viktigt att skapa bättre förtroende mellan parterna. Även åklagarna har en mycket viktig roll i rättskedjan och behöver, liksom polisen och domstolarna, kontinuerlig utbildning om hatbrott.Denna forskningsöversikt tyder på att det finns många och komplexa orsaker ba- kom hatbrott. Men på ett grundläggande plan handlar det om historiskt och kul- turellt rotade fördomar och om hat mot dem som anses avvika. Eftersom fördomar är en del av maktrelationer och allmänna diskurser, behövs breda, långsiktiga lösningar kring kränkningar och hatbrott – det räcker inte med effektivare lag- stiftning och rättssystem. Även strukturella och institutionella åtgärder är viktiga instrument.Det finns många studier om enskilda individer som utsatts för hatbrott. Ändå saknar vi delvis kunskap om konsekvenserna av hatbrott för särskilt utsatta grup- per. Här behövs komparativa studier på gruppnivå och samhällsnivå. Hur skilda grupper hanterar utsatthet och hur och varför det skiljer sig mellan individer i sam- ma grupp, är andra angelägna forskningsområden.Kunskapsöversikten visar att det över huvud taget behövs fler studier inom hat- brottsområdet. Ofta utsatta grupper bör jämföras med varandra avseende orsak- erna till utsatthet, historisk bakgrund och möjliga åtgärder för att minska hatbrotten. Mer forskning krävs även om begreppet hatbrott, vad det betyder inom olika kontexter och vilka signaler det ger. Inte minst behövs teorier som specifikt passar hatbrottsfältet. Det finns ett fåtal forskningsstudier om medias och sociala me- diers påverkan på hatbrott, men fördjupningar är önskvärda. I detta sammanhang bör kopplingen mellan attityder och beteenden bli föremål för ytterligare studier. Dessutom är det angeläget att fylla kunskapsluckorna om hur hatbrott i allmänhet kan förebyggas.Violations and hate crimes based on group membership can, in addition to the vic- tim itself, also affect the victim’s group, other vulnerable groups and society at large. The purpose of this research overview is to provide an insight into the available re- search literature on hate crimes, both internationally and in Sweden. Our focus is on xenophobic and racist hate crimes, specifically Afrophobic and anti-Roma, as well as anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes. The overview also discusses definitions of the concept of hate crime, the emergence of the legislation and theories about the causes and behaviors in connection to hate crimes.There is no proper legal definition of hate crimes in Swedish legislation. Hate crime, in other words, is not an offense on its own. In 1994, however, a rule was introduced which states that a sentence enhancement can be applied if the motive is to harm someone because of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or (since 2002) sexual orientation or other similar circumstance (Penal Code 29 chapter 2 §7p). It is the crimes that fall within the framework of this enhanced sentence rule that are colloquially called hate crimes.Many researchers argue that a hate crime is worse than an equivalent crime without a hate motive because it gives a signal to the group to which the victim is considered to belong that they “should know their place” in the hierarchy, and that the psycholog- ical damage can be long-lasting for the victim or the group that is indirectly affected. Hate crimes may also lead to a general increase of tensions between different groups, which can counteract the integration of minority groups in society.There are different opinions on whether sentence enhancement is equitable for acts where the motive is to harm someone because of their perceived membership of a racial or ethnic group, religious belief or sexual orientation. We want to stress that the purpose of sentence enhancement is to emphasize that it is unacceptable to commit crimes against persons because they belong or are perceived to belong to a special group. Tougher penalties are consequently a way to put the spotlight on hate crimes as a major social and democratic problem.The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRÅ) states in a report that over 6,200 hate crimes were reported in 2014, an increase of about 700 cases since 2013. Of these allegations, 69 percent had a xenophobic or racist motive (of which, the sub- divisions of Afrophobic hate crimes constituted 25 percent and anti-Roma 7 percent). In 8 percent of the complaints, it was about Islamophobic motives and 4 percent had anti-Semitic motives. Both the Swedish Council for Crime Prevention and the National Crime Survey (NTU, 2014), which repeatedly follows up on available statistics on re- ported hate crimes, estimates that the number of unreported cases is high.This research overview describes some explanations for this, namely that the incident is deemed trivial, the victim is ashamed and does not want to figure in a lawsuit, the victim does not think that a police report will lead to any results, the victim is an un- documented migrant, the victim is afraid of retaliation from the perpetrator or have a lack of trust in the judicial system. To get individuals and groups with a low propen- sity to report hate crimes, it is important to improve trust between these individuals/ groups and the police. Even prosecutors have a very important role in the legal pro- cess and need, along with the police and courts, continuous training on hate crimes.The research overview suggests that the reasons behind hate crimes are many and complex. At a fundamental level, however, it is about historically and culturally root- ed prejudices and hatred toward those who are different. Since prejudices are a part of power relations and public discourses, long-term solutions regarding harassment and hate crimes should be more comprehensive than just effective regulations and legal systems. Even structural and institutional measures are important to consider.Although there are many studies on individual victims of hate crimes, there is a lack of knowledge about the consequences for particularly vulnerable groups. Hence, there is a need for comparative studies on the consequences for separate categories at a group and community level, as well as research on how different groups manage vul- nerability and how and why it differs between individuals of the same group.In an overall perspective, the research overview indicates that more studies are need- ed on the subject of hate crimes. Often victimized groups should be compared regard- ing causes of vulnerability, historical background and possible measures to reduce hate crimes. It is also important that further research is conducted on the concept of hate crimes, the meaning of hate crimes in different contexts and what signals itgives. Not least, there is a great need of theories that are specifically customized for the research field of hate crimes. There is some research on media and social media’s impact on hate crimes, but these studies are few in number and a deeper understand- ing of the problem is desirable. In this context, the connection between attitudes and behavior is also in need of further investigation. In addition, it is urgent to cope with the knowledge gaps about how hate crimes in general can be prevented

When colour matters : policing and hate crime

Contrary to the image of Sweden as a tolerant, colour-blind and non-racial country, which is based on the narrative of a country for instance associated with solidarity with the so-called Third World; in this article we argue that racial attributes, e.g. visible differences, account for people’s different life possibilities and circumstances in Swedish society. This article explores and discusses whether, and if so why, people who belong to the group that is categorised as “non-white”, with an emphasis on Afroswedes, and depicted as racially different, experience being targets of diverse variations of bias-based policing, harassment and hate crime. Theories relating to colonial stereotypes, racism, doing difference, the geography of hate, race/ethnicity profiling and intersectionality are used to analyse our material. Based on individual and focus group interviews with “non-whites”, this article discusses how visible differences are highlighted in different kinds of social contexts. The interview results show that people with dark skin are often targets of different kinds of private and public policing based on race- and ethnicity profiling that often occurs on or near borders/boundaries. When those who are targets of racial harassment and exclusion resist such treatment, e.g. by crossing borders/boundaries, they are at risk of becoming victims of hate crime

"Att prygla en neger"

En septemberdag 1995 hittades i ett buskage i Klippans centrum en ung man knivhuggen till döds. Mannen visade sig vara från Elfenbenskusten och hette Gerard Gbeyo

Media Images and Experiences of being a Jew in the Swedish City of Malmö

A series of high-profile incidents in and after 2008 placed Malmö in southern Sweden on the national and international map as a place that was unsafe for people identified as Jews. The primary aim of this article is to explore and exemplify what it is like to live with Jewish identity in Malmö within a framework of how the media reports anti-Semitism and how this group copes with being the potential target of anti-Semitic harassment and hate crime. Based on interviews with people with Jewish identity in Malmö, we analyze and discuss their experiences using different themes, such as violent and everyday anti-Semitism, the local impact of the Israel–Palestine conflict, how media images affect their lives, and how exposure and vulnerability are dealt with. The findings are important in terms of both possible long-term measures against anti-Semitism and as immediate support for those targeted

A challange to multiculturalism : everyday racism and hate crime in a small Swedish town

At times of economic decline, such as the deep economic crisis experiencedin many European countries today, vulnerable groups can clash withother vulnerable groups. These clashes can be exploited by different politicalmovements and individuals, who point to the Other and the multicultural societyas the cause of society’s problems. This can result in intensified everyday racialviolations, and an increase in violent hate crimes. A case study, from a smallSwedish town in which an asylum seeker from The Ivory Coast was stabbedto death by extreme right-wing youths, illustrates how racist hate crime relatesto discrimination and everyday harassment. The murder became a test casefor what in Sweden later became known as hate crime