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4.2.2 Different Operational Definitions and Perspectives on Hate Crimes
Before elaborating on the monitoring and support activities of selected organizations in more detail, we will start our account of NGO activities with a brief overview of how they understand and apply the term »hate crime.« In contrast to the Polish part of the study, we did not ask the interviewees about their general views on biasmotivated violence in the German context because most of the groups included were chosen precisely for the reason that they acknowledge the severity and the prevalence of the problem and are, in some way, active in monitoring and addressing hate crimes.
However, each organization’s approach and definition varies to some degree as a result of its specific political, social and geographic profile; the experiences and needs of the groups with which it works or whose interests it represents; and the context in which the organization was founded. As has been noted by other authors, civil rights and other advocacy organizations have played a crucial role in its promotion and acceptance in the hate crime concept as first developed in the Anglo- Saxon world. (11) This concept has not yet been adopted by too many social actors in Germany. In addition to the difficulty of translating the term into German, there are obviously further reservations with regard to its application. (12) One such reservation, as expressed by various activists, is linked to the fact that the German hate crime discussion is still very focused on the controversial question of whether the racist, xenophobic, homophobic or other political/ideological motivation of a perpetrator should be automatically considered an aggravating factor for sentencing in court. Since most of the groups interviewed argue that the existent legal framework for the prosecution and conviction of hate crimes has yet not been satisfactorily exhausted by the law enforcement agencies responsible, they are very cautious to support what some of them perceive as two-faced »law and order campaigns« by a number of populist politicians. (13) Furthermore, interviewees were critical of the fact that legal concepts of hate crime tend to obscure the predominant power structures in Germany, highlighting the extent to which racism and right-wing ideologies are rooted in mainstream society. At the same time, some of these groups addressed the ongoing challenge of developing a more unified understanding of hate crimes and an appropriate response, expressing the need for intensified cooperation and networking with other organizations, and/or outreach to victim and minorities who have received less attention in the debate on right-wing violence. Examples of such groups include the disabled, the homeless or other socially and politically marginalized parts of the population.
A few organizations are deliberately applying a broader definition of hate crimes and violence by also highlighting more subtle and everyday forms of harassment and abuse, as well as structural discrimination and various dimensions of social and legal inequality. The latter are often not considered as problems that need to be addressed by mainstream society. Nevertheless, most groups are well aware of the dilemma that state institutions and the public are only concerned with monitoring and prosecuting incidents when they constitute one or more of the following: a criminal or litigable offense, a breach of the public order or a threat to Germany’s international reputation. For this reason, many NGOs, especially those that receive funding from state institutions, see the strategic necessity of concentrating on those events and incidents that comply with more official and accepted (legal) definitions of hate crimes in their public statements, reports and statistics, whereas they deal with a much more complex set of social, emotional and legal problems and grievances that concern various victim groups in these organizations’ daily work, especially when offering counseling and social services.
11. Bleich 2008. Quantifying Hate, p. 63-80; Kohlstruck, Michael 2004. »Hate Crimes«—Anmerkungen zu einer aktuellen Debatte. In: Berliner Forum Gewaltprävention: Dokumentation des 4. Berliner Präventionstages am 13. November 2003, Berlin, p. 67-74; McVeigh, Rory; Welch, Michael R.; Bjarnason, Thoroddur 2003. Hate Crime Reporting as a Successful Social Movement Outcome. In: American Sociological Review, Vol. 68, p. 843-867.
12. The literal translation »Hasskriminalität« is rather misleading, because «hate« in the German context is understood as a strong personal feeling of rejection and dislike, and not so much as a widespread collective bias towards specific groups.
13. Some of our interview partners referred to a legislative initiative by the states of Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt (see Chapter 2).
(OPP)
