Iceland
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 19 | Not available | Not available |
| 2023 | 15 | Not available | Not available |
| 2022 | 8 | Not available | Not available |
| 2021 | 15 | Not available | Not available |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 2017 | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 10 | Not available | Not available |
| 2014 | 8 | Not available | Not available |
| 2013 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2012 | 6 | Not available | Not available |
| 2011 | 1 | Not available | Not available |
| 2010 | 2 | Not available | Not available |
| 2009 | Not available | 0 | 0 |
Hate crime recorded by police
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes Iceland's efforts to strengthen the capacity of the police and prosecutors to address hate crimes by implementing ODIHR’s TAHCLE and PAHCT programmes. However, based on the available information, it observes that Iceland has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution and judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that Iceland would benefit from further reviewing the existing legal framework to ensure that bias motivations can be effectively acknowledged and appropriate penalties imposed on the perpetrators.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes and to report such data periodically to ODIHR. Participating States also committed to enacting specific, tailored legislation to combat hate crimes, providing for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of such crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Iceland in meeting the relevant commitments through its comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further legislative guidance and advice.
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in Iceland from the following civil society organizations:
- Samtökin ’78
- European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses
To learn more about these organizations, visit the Contributors page.
All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that are broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and may be listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received reports of 15 incidents that took place in Iceland in the following bias motivation categories: anti-LGBTI, and gender-based. In addition, several incidents involved multiple bias motives, such as gender-based and anti-LGBTI, or anti-LGBTI and racist and anti-Christian. ODIHR observes that the incidents targeting the LGBTI community often took place around the annual LGBTI-Pride event or were related to the destruction of LGBTI flags and symbols. A few incidents targeting trans women involved particularly violent physical assaults. It should be noted that ODIHR did not receive any reporting on Iceland relating to anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, other religion or belief, or disability hate incidents. Therefore, there are likely to be gaps in the information reported here. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such might not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in Iceland.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in Iceland to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from Iceland click here and search by year and country.
CIVIL SOCIETY INCIDENT SUMMARIES
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
Anti-Christian hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | Jehovah's Witnesses
|
Show info |
Gender-based hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-04 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
Anti-LGBTI hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-07 | Attacks against property | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-04 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-07 | Threats/Harassment | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-07 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-08 | Threats/Harassment | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-10 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |
| 2024-02 | Violent attacks against people | Samtökin '78 - The National Queer Association of Iceland
|
Show info |