Last year, 5,668 hate crimes were reported in Austria. This is a slight decrease compared to the previous year. The most common motive was worldview (2,706), followed by national or ethnic origin (1,612) and religion (700).
The Ministry of the Interior announced this in a press release on Wednesday. Hate crimes are crimes in which social characteristics such as gender, age or social status of a person are the motives. The act is directed against the selected group as a whole or can also be directed against an institution or case. The year before, the worldview of a person was the most common motive, with violations of the Nazi law, damage to property and incitement predominating. In most cases, the suspects had no direct contact with the victims.
This is how hate crimes are distributed in Austria:
National Socialist hate posts on the internet
Accordingly, three-quarters of all online hate posts revealed violations of the prohibition law. One in five hate crimes is already committed on the internet. However, people experience physical violence mainly because of their age or gender. Violence against people with disabilities or queer people is also often physical.
In the category of religion, the most crimes were in the area of anti-Semitism, ahead of anti-Muslimism. Three out of four anti-religious hate posts were classified as anti-Semitic. Bodily harm, damage to property and dangerous threats are primarily directed against Muslims. Sexual orientation as a motive has increased the most: almost every second crime (47 percent) takes place in public spaces.
Perpetrators are often male and young
As in previous years, it was mainly young males who committed the reported crimes. In Vienna, for example, a 17-year-old is currently in custody who allegedly murdered two homeless people in the summer of 2023. 28 percent of the perpetrators had a citizenship other than Austrian nationality, which is lower than for the total crime (46 percent). These suspects were overrepresented last year, especially in cases of anti-age, misogyny or anti-Muslim behavior.
The full report can be read online on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Only crimes that have already been investigated were counted. During the period under review, the police solved 68.7 percent of all bias-motivated crimes.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
