Reports from the conference

Conference programme

 List of organizations

The conference “Make every voice heard! The Power of Victim Perspectives in fighting Hate Crime ” took place near Berlin, Germany, from 19th to 24th November 2017, with the objective of sharing understanding and learning about victim-centered approaches, hearing about victims’ needs and sharing best practices on victim support.

Hate Violence threatens social peace in Europe, however, the dimensions of these bias motivated attacks are largely unknown. Governmental recordings and NGO data only show the tip of the iceberg – underreporting and underrecording of Hate Crimes and Violence constitute a widespread problem in all European countries. But even if an attack is recorded, the victim’s needs often remain almost completely invisible. The lack of recognition by most members of the major society, national governments, official authorities and the law enforcement and low awareness of discrimination and Hate Violence and their serious consequences is part of the problem. It can lead to even more violence. Hate Violence needs to be recognized as a societal problem to ensure treatment, support and justice for those who are affected.

Hate Violence is not only the victims’ problem. It concerns everyone. That´s why civil society and human rights activists have to fight against it. We have to take the social responsibility to fight Hate Crime and we should do it together with the people who are affected. We have to act in solidarity and solely on behalf of the victims. Therefore, we have to listen to their voices, understand their needs and implement a victim-centered approach in our engagement.

What could you expect?

Considering that Hate Crime and Violence and, even more, the fight against it, are extremely complex topics, our conference aimed to create a platform to:

–    understand what Hate Crime and Hate Violence is

–    listen to the experts in this field and get some theoretical background

–    find out how Hate Violence affects individuals, groups and our society by listening to personal testimonies

–    learn about victims´ needs and how to implement victim-centered approaches in your everyday work

–    work in groups to develop strategies for victim support, media, advocacy, campaigning or community work

–    initiate joint actions for organizations as well as produce future working materials and strategies to tackle Hate Violence

–    pave the way for future cooperation

The conference programme combined debates, workshops, sharing of experiences and good practices, political cafes and many other methods for learning from practical experience.

About the situation in Germany

In Germany, a great increase of right-wing, racist and antisemitic attacks took place during the last three years. The German Association of Support services for victims of right-wing, racist and antisemitic violence” (VBRG) counted 1948 attacks and 3050 victims in the year 2016. Most targeted groups are refugees and asylum seekers, migrants, black people as well as the Jewish community, the LGBT-community and homeless people. In addition the right-wing violence against antifascist and antiracist activists, human rights defenders and against journalists and politicians raise to a new level. While there is a lack of recognition for Hate Violence and its causes within official institutions many NGOs work in the field of prevention, education and advocacy. In some parts of Germany, specialized organizations offer a wide range of professional support to the victims of both Hate Violence and discrimination. Others do a great job in monitoring incidents or in establishing a memorative culture for the fatalities of Hate Violence. The racist killing spree of the neo-Nazi network NSU was especially persuasive for many organizations to get active in the field. Some even rise to the challenge to implement a victim-centered approach.

This conference was prepared by:

• Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH), Poland
• German Association of Support services for victims of right-wing, racist and antisemitic violence (VBRG)
• Movimiento contra la Intolerancia, Spain
• Romanian National Council for Refugees
• RAA Saxony – Support for victims of hate violence, Germany
• Social Action Centre, Ukraine

In cooperation with:

• German Association of Support services for victims of right-wing, racist and antisemitic violence (VBRG)

This conference was made possible with the financial support of:

• The European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe
• The Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
• German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

The information contained herein does not necessarily reflect the position nor the opinion of our sponsors. Sponsors are not to be held responsible for any use that may be made of it.