Making hate crime visible in the European Union : acknowledging victims' rights

Discrimination and intolerance persist in the European Union (EU) despite the best efforts of Member States to root them out, FRA research shows. Verbal abuse, physical attacks and murders motivated by prejudice target EU society in all its diversity, from visible minorities to those with disabilities. Those who commit such 'hate crimes' - a loose term for this troubling reality - are drawn from across society; their crimes cause incalculable damage to victims, families and society as a whole, making it ever more urgent to consider how best to respond. This FRA report is designed to help the EU and its Member States to tackle these fundamental rights violations both by making them more visible and bringing perpetrators to account. This involves encouraging victims and witnesses to report these crimes and increasing their confidence in the criminal justice system's ability to deal with them decisively and effectively.