Austria

Austria regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Implemented in 2021, Austria's new hate crime recording system represents a good practice in the region. The Austrian Ministry of Interior is also a member of the civil society network "Hate Crime Kontern", which strengthens hate crime co-ordination and victim support, and co-operates directly with civil society organizations. Hate crime statistics collected by the Ministry are published online each year.

In January 2023, Austria implemented ODIHR's Diagnostic Workshop to Assess National Structures and Services for Hate Crime Victim Support.

SELECT YEAR

OFFICIAL DATA

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2022	5,865	3,035	272
2021	5,464	4,304	184
2020	156	436	169
2019	125	421	191
2018	307	407	208
2017	302	Not available	Not available
2016	425	Not available	Not available
2015	395	Not available	Not available
2014	186	Not available	Not available
2013	110	Not available	Not available
2012	91	Not available	Not available
2011	59	38	1
2010	101	1	1
2009	62	Not available	Not available

About 2022 Data

Police records represent the number of offences recorded as hate crimes; a total number of 7,095 cases were registered, some of which involved more than one bias motivation. Police-recorded hate crimes include 4,080 offences that fall outside of the OSCE definition of hate crime. These include cases defined as "right-wing extremism" under the Prohibition Act, insults, and honour. Prosecution and sentencing figures are based on the same recording methodology as police-recorded figures. Prosecution figures exclude 1,689 cases prosecuted under the Prohibition Act (§§ 3a-3h VerbotsG) and sentencing figures exclude 106 cases sentenced under the Prohibition Act (§§ 3a-3h VerbotsG), and which fall outside of the OSCE definition of hate crime.

Hate crime recorded by police

The number of police-recorded cases excludes 3,875 offences recorded under the Prohibition Act (§§ 3a-3h VerbotsG) and 205 offences classified as insults or honour crimes, all of which fall outside of the OSCE's definition of hate crime.

By bias motivation
By type of crime

Download official data

National developments

In 2022, the following training sessions were offered to criminal justice professionals: Hate Crime Online and Offline (delivered by the civil society organizations Weisser Ring, ZARA, and PSV Wien); Cybercrime and Social Media (OLG Innsbruck); a workshop on investigating and prosecuting online hate speech; and tools on cyberforensics, online hate and anti-Semitism, and hate crimes.

As of 17 January 2023, a total of 26,548 police officers had completed the training sessions. In addition, 205 police officers from the Federal Provinces were trained to deliver training events to front-line officers and to serve as contact points for CSOs and victim support organizations.

There were several notable hate crime cases in 2022. In Styria, a person with a neurological impairment was threatened due to their disability. The police recorded this incident as a hate crime and a dangerous threat. The regional court imposed a preliminary injunction on the perpetrator. Also in Styria, two children were physically assaulted while being subjected to racist insults. The police recorded the insult and the physical injury and sent the case to the prosecution. In Vienna, a person was attacked after refusing to lower a rainbow flag. The police recorded the physical injury and sent the case to the prosecution.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR recognizes Austria's long-term efforts to improve its hate crime recording and data collection mechanism as well as its hate crime victim support system. However, based on the available information, it observes that Austria's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Austria would benefit from raising awareness among and building the capacity of criminal justice officials, including prosecutors and judges, to address hate crimes.

ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States agreed to a common definition of hate crime and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on such crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished throughout the recording and data collection processes, from incitement to hatred and other hate speech crimes. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Austria in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance, including further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for prosecution and judiciary.