"Gypsy, Go Home!" : Hate crime against Roma EU-migrants who make a living on the streets of Malmö, Sweden. An intermediary report

Abstract

This report is the first publication within the project, Tackling Anti-Gypsyism against Roma Migrants in Malmö, implemented by Skåne Stadsmission, together with Civil Rights Defenders and co-financed by the European Union (EU). The objective of the two-year project is to combat hate crime against migrant EU-citizens of Roma ethnicity, who make a living on the streets of Malmö, Sweden. Several studies have previously drawn attention to the fact that migrant EU-citizens making a living on the streets, live at a high risk of falling victim to abuse and attacks motivated by hate. This report investigates hate crime against this group, both from the perspective of the victims and of the perpetrators. Part 2 presents preliminary results of a study carried out by the project team, on the incidence and experiences of hate crime against migrant EU-citizens who live on the streets of Malmö. Parts3 and 4 examine explanatory models for motives behind these crimes. Part 3, written by Simon Wallengren, presents the results of a survey of Malmö residents’ attitudes towards Roma EU-migrants who make a living through begging. Part 4, by Erik Hansson, presents a historical and psychological perspective on people’s responses to begging. The results confirm previous research and demonstrate that migrant EU-citizens suffer an extensive and systematic exposure to hate crime. 56 percent of the migrant EU-citizens interviewed stated that they had been victims of hate crime during the past 12 months in Sweden. Self-identified Roma respondents were more likely to have experienced hate crime and most respondents experienced hate crime severaltimes a week. Although a seemingly low number of hate crimes were reported to the police, this is nevertheless a good result for the project’s first five months, when compared with only two police reports being filed the previous year. However, we found a discrepancy with previous research regarding beliefs and attitudes towards Roma EU-migrants who beg; few respondents answered that they have been angry with, provoked by, or afraid of Roma who beg. Also, compared to other surveys, relatively few respondents showed support for a ban on begging (33 percent). It was though, rather common that respondents considered the Roma who beg to be disturbing public order (18 percent). The consequences of poverty are perceived by many people as a disturbance of the normative and aesthetic order of the public space. There are two types of measures that could prevent violence. One is that Swedish authorities begin to work actively to ensure the basic human rights of vulnerable EU-citizens in Sweden. The second measure would be to revise hate crime legislation; to consider that states of homelessness and poverty can make people targets for hate crimes that are not necessarily motivated exclusively by the victims’ ethnicity. A more nuanced understanding and application of hate crime legislation would lead to more prosecutions and greater respect for the seriousness and prevalence of the issue