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Czech Republic: Number of victims of hate violence rose in 2013

20 February 2014
4 minute read

Last year in the Czech Republic the number of victims of hate violence motivated by nationality, religion, sexual orientation or skin color rose year-on-year from 38 to 211 cases. Those numbers are based on police statistics acquired by the In IUSITITIA organization, which helps the victims of violence motivated by prejudice.  

Klára Kalibová of In IUSTITIA noted the rise in advance of the European Day for Victims of Crime (22 February). Since last August a new law about crime victims has been in effect in the Czech Republic. 

After more than six months of working with the new law, In IUSTITIA has 16 suggestions for how to improve its operation. Kalibová wants to review those suggestions with the Czech Justice Ministry. 

Last year In IUSTITIA was in contact with 58 victims of hate violence. Kalibová says 22 of those incidents targeted Romani people, two attacks were against Czech people, six were religiously motivated, and four were committed against homeless people. 

"There were 15 cases of physical assault, with the other attacks taking the form of extortion, intimidation, or on-line harassment," says Kalibová. Last year the number of hate crimes also rose due to the demonstrations against Romani people in České Budějovice and northern Bohemia.

In IUSTITIA has determined that even with the new law in effect, victims still lack protection from their alleged perpetrators or from harms that might arise during the solving of these crimes. "We repeatedly encountered situations in which the court believed sufficient protection consisted of the victim not having to testify in front of the perpetrator. The judge was not interested in the fact that the victim and perpetrator might encounter one another when entering or exiting the courtroom," Kalibová says.

Another deficiency of the law is that crime victims are required to repeatedly testify during preliminary hearings and then in court, which can worsen their health. In IUSTITIA will be proposing improvements, such as awarding the status of "particularly vulnerable victim" to some crime victims so they will not have to repeatedly testify.

The organization would also like to discuss improving victims’ rights to protection from their alleged perpetrators and improving help and support for victims, such as access to free legal aid and claims to financial assistance from the state, as well as improving public awareness of these issues. "The law on crime victims was definitely a good step and it is understandable that certain problems are arising in practice. We just have to propose how we can solve those problems together," Kalibová stresses.  

Pavla Radová of the Probation and Mediation Services of the Czech Republic warns that even apparently minor crimes must never be minimized. "On the occasion of the European Day for Victims of Crime we recall the difficulty of the situation of all victims of crime. Generally the opinion persists that crimes such as shoplifting are not worth paying attention to, but our experience is different," she says. 

Even minor crimes can have wide-ranging consequences for their victims. "It can mean the loss of any sort of certitude, a loss of the feeling of security. It is therefore essential that everyone who feels they have been a crime victim must be considered one unless there is evidence to the contrary or it is completely obvious that someone is abusing the victim position," says Radová, who coordinates the "Why me?" project, which helps crime victims cope with their situations and return to normal life.    

According to Jana Horáková of the Probation and Mediation Services of the Czech Republic, that particular state institution helped a total of 4 087 crime victims last year. Kalibová says around 320 000 people become crime victims annually in the Czech Republic.  

The ROMEA organization also works closely with In IUSTITIA, running a toll-free hotline (800 307 307) for people who have been affected by discrimination or hate violence. During the past two years, 105 people have called the number, most of them Romani.

Of those phone calls, 64 concerned discrimination, while 41 were evaluated as possible cases of hate violence. "Our contact staffer finds out all of the details about the case, and should it actually be an instance of discrimination or hate crime, the staffer prepares background materials about it for the lawyers. Cases concerning hate violence are transferred for direct legal aid to the In IUSTITIA organization, and the cases of discrimination are transferred to other organizations that handle that kind of legal aid," says Zdeněk Ryšavý, director of the ROMEA organization.   

ROMEA also focuses on publicizing cases of discrimination and hate crime. "We want to contribute toward the victims of hate violence being able to better cope with their experiences and show them they are not alone. The publicizing of the cases depends on the clients’ consent and should lead to sparking discussion about this and related topics," Ryšavý explains.  

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