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5 Recommendations
Our research findings have highlighted major challenges in dealing with right-wing violence and related crimes. These call for the development of more comprehensiv and effective hate crime policies in both countries. These challenges are, of course, not restricted to the fields we have explored such as the legal frameworks, the official monitoring systems or the outlined counter-measures of NGOs, but refer rather to a number of other areas (media and academic discourses, educational systems, the protection of minority groups and refugees, anti-discrimination policies etc.) that have been not discussed in this report. Furthermore, psychological and legal support for victims is still very underdeveloped, not only in Poland but also in large segments of German society. One of the most pressing tasks in both countries is to raise the general awareness on right-wing extremism, racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia as structural problems. These ideologies need to be countered, not only by focusing on violent activity, but by also recognizing the more subtle forms embodied, for example, in administrative structures and everyday practices.
In the following recommendations, however, we have tried to identify some feasible activities, measures and forms of cooperation, which could prove meaningful for the advancement of already existing structures and networks of NGOs active orinterested in the monitoring of hate crimes and/or victims’ assistance. Most of them are based on issues, considerations and concerns brought up by our interview partners. In the best case scenario, the recommendations could provide suggestions for further projects, funding and research activities.
Transnational Cooperation
- NGO cooperation in the German-Polish border region. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania could especially benefit, because there has been an increase in right-wing attacks on Polish residents and in anti-Polish sentiments in general. Polish NGOs could support German victim assistance organizations in establishing contacts with individuals and communities directly affected and helping with inquiries. Cooperation could take the form of staff exchanges or joint evaluations and local interventions in specific cases. German and Polish NGOs could also develop collaborative monitoring projects with regard to other activities of far-right organizations in the border region.
- Share and adapt expert knowledge on victim counseling. Experience and work/educational material can be shared and discussed with regard to how certain approaches and methods are transferable. Areas of focus could entail monitoring techniques (documentation, data bases etc.) and psycho-social victim assistance (counseling approaches, outreach methods, infor-mation on traumatization) and building community support (empowerment strategies).
- Exchange information and reflect on experiences in the assistance of specific target groups. Such groups would include members of the LGBT community, refugees and migrants; ethnic and religious minority groups, and alternative/ left-wing youth. Questions of how to cooperate and network between groups of volunteers and professional organizations can be addressed, in addition to how to prevent or deal with attacks on the infrastructure of religious and ethnic minorities (cemeteries, houses of prayer etc.), as well as the potential and limits of cooperation between NGOs and local public authorities in dealing with sites of tensions.
- Initiate exchanges between municipalities that have been confronted with the problem of hate crimes. Municipalities in both countries have different experiences when dealing with hate crimes. Where some have recognized and addressed the problem, others are still reluctant to take up this complex issue. Exchanges between representatives of local governments, local institutions and civil society organizations can provide a space for actors who »speak the same language« and can share possible options and strategies for change based on first-hand experiences.
- Make The Brown Book and other important data/information sources and reports available to NGOs in other countries by translating them into English. Projects of transnational cooperation, exchanges and joint campaigns can provide a better foundation for factual knowledge with regard to right-wing activities and hate crimes in Poland. This information can also serve as a base for political analysis, comparisons and case-related discussions.
Capacity building for Polish NGOs and networks
- Strengthen contacts and exchanges with actors within the field of anti-discrimination activities. Anti-discrimination work seems already to have history in Poland considering its structural resources and public attention. Even if the nature of structural discrimination in public life and in the labor market may be different from the underlying causes of hate crime, the actual target groups (such as ethnic minorities, migrants, gay people or persons with handicaps) overlap to a large extent. Both anti-discrimination work and hate crime victim assistance employ counseling methods.
- Intensify monitoring activities. This report highlighted a variety of already existing forms and methods of monitoring hate crimes in Poland. The existing monitoring structures and networks, especially that of Nigdy Więcej, have proved indispensable and should, therefore, be strengthened. The numerous monitoring efforts made by local organizations could be supported by collecting their information in a nation-wide data base, thereby providing more insight on the situation of minority groups.
- Provide training in victim assistance. Prepare and provide relevant information and training activities/programs on hate crimes, victim support, minority rights, etc. for leaders and activists of minority organizations and alternative youth groups; work out training material on victim assistance (also in minority languages); provide legal trainings or assistance to refugee organizations.
- Develop ideas and strategies for outreach activities across Poland. Most organizations representing or assisting hate crime victims are concentrated in Warsaw or in other Polish urban regions. Sites of hate crimes and far-right activities, however, are found across the whole country. Developing viable forms of outreach activities and victim support across a wide-stretching geographical area, including rural or remote regions, is, therefore, a major challenge.
- Profiling and procurement of expert assistance. Assistance for hate crime victims requires support of experts who have an understanding of hate crimes and are aware of the particular needs of the victims. Legal, psychological and other experts have to be identified and possibly trained in specific hate crime-related aspects. Solutions have to be found for victims who cannot pay for expert services.
- Establish a resource center for combating hate crimes in Poland. Most of the activities recommended above could be facilitated by the creation of a specialized resource center. Whereas the aforementioned tasks can only be fulfilled by the joint effort of many actors, one of the NGOs already active in the respective field could assume a coordinating function. A resource center would facilitate the coordination of steps that need to be taken for an improved system of monitoring and victim assistance; it could also contribute to a more sustainable networking process and broaden public awareness about the hate crime problem in Poland by serving as a contact point for other NGOs, journalists, academics, and, of course, for the victims affected.
Research
Adequate hate crime policies by NGOs and authorities in Poland and Germany can be also facilitated, amongst other things, by more research efforts and expertise in various fields.
- In Germany and Poland more attention should be paid to the question how public prosecutors and the jurisdiction in general deal with hate crime dimensions in criminal proceedings. This could be important for the development of more sophisticated litigation strategies. For Polish NGOs interested in providing legal aid and support in court proceedings, it could be helpful to learn more about the application of existing legal provisions and procedural instruments, especially the provision of subsidiary prosecution.
- More information on the extent and nature of hate crimes in Poland could be obtained by conducting more victimization surveys on specific target groups (for example alternative youth, visible minority groups), similar to the ones already carried out by NGOs representing the LGBT community. These could be used for awareness raising and public campaigns.
- Coping strategies of hate crime victims and the actual impact of victim counseling need more research and consideration in both countries in order to develop adequate approaches and/or to improve existing services.
- The relationship between hate speech and hate crimes seems to be completely under-explored, especially the impact on hate speech and incitement to hatred in the Internet. Multidisciplinary research projects could address this question, taking into consideration the influence of media and elite discourses, and institutional frameworks for national anti-hate speech policies.
Research and inquiry could be conducted and supported at various levels, ranging from expert workshops, grants for relevant PhD projects, or project-based co-operation between NGOs and academic institutions.
(OPP)
