RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - Cospe

RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - A Comparative Overview of Findings from the RAXEN NFP Reports 2001-2004
Place of Victimisation
• Racially motivated crimes were predominantly committed in public places
(36% on the street and 12% in parks). 12% were committed in the victim’s
home.
• Racially motivated crime predominantly took place at night (36%) or in the
evening (21%).
• 59% of racially motivated crimes were committed in Southern Finland (where
the majority of immigrants live); around 30% of crimes were committed in
Helsinki, and 44% of racist crimes committed in Helsinki were assaults
(including attempts).
Victim Characteristics (2002):
• The number of victims by nationality (which includes ethnicity), in declining
order, are: Finnish, Somalian, Turkish, Russian, Iranian. Among the Finnish
group, the majority are immigrants who have been given Finnish citizenship.
• 75% of victims are men. There are 10% more male than female victims when
compared with non-racist crimes.
Offender Characteristics (2002):
• Among racially motivated crimes: Police statistics indicate that 90% of
suspected perpetrators are young men, with 43% aged 15-24.
• In 13% of cases the aggressor is known to the victim, and in 10% of cases is a
neighbour.
Sentences of District Courts 2000-2002
• In this period, only three cases were charged with incitement against an ethnic
group, of which 1 was dismissed.
16.3.2. Unofficial data
Victim Survey on ‘Racism and Discrimination in Finland’ 91
Findings published in 2002. RAXEN 4 does not provide data concerning the
number of people surveyed or the dates of the survey; however, the following can
be noted:
• The following groups were interviewed: Kosovo Albanians, Vietnamese,
Somalis, Arabs, Russians, Estonians and Ingrian Finns.
91
asinskaja-Lahti, Liebkind and Vesala (2002) ‘Racism and Discrimination in Finland’.
The survey was part of the Syreeni programme which is financed by the Academy of
Finland.
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