The numbers below represent all incidents recorded by the police and sent to the criminal prosecutor's office.
Following the recommendations made by ODIHR and the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) at a workshop on the registration of hate crimes and offences in January 2020, a working group composed of representatives of the Equal Opportunities Team (SPF Justice), the police, the judiciary and Unia was set up to optimize the registration of hate crimes. The work focuses on the following areas: the lack of obligation to systematically register all hate crimes at the police level; the technical challenges in registering cases of multiple bias motivations; lack of systematic transmission of the registrations made by the police to the IT systems of the judiciary and the Central Criminal Records Office. The working group should further propose short-term solutions to the challenges identified.
The Police of La Louvière launched a dedicated website for the integrated police services on discrimination and hate crimes. On this website, the police officers can find all essential and useful information regarding, for example, legal framework, resources, useful contacts, video material or articles. All police forces in the country now have easy access to such information in French and Dutch, and partially in German.
Since 2020, victims of homophobic and transphobic violence in Brussels have been able to report hate crimes (including anonymously) to the civil society organization "Rainbow House". Rainbow House collects information from victims and refers them to official bodies if necessary. This project is based on collaboration between Rainbow House, Brussels Prevention & Security, and the Brussels Regional Public Service (equal.brussels). Furthermore, the Brussels Capital police zone created an LGBTI hotline on its website. Victims and witnesses can report homophobic and transphobic hate crimes to the Brussels police through this channel.
The Police of Charleroi developed a model letter for victims of discrimination and hate crimes, with the aim to refer victims to Unia. In this letter, the reference agent asks victims if they agree to report the facts to Unia and if they would allow a copy of their statement to be sent to Unia.
In October 2020, a report of a victimisation survey entitled "Comment (mieux) aider les victimes de délits de haine à se reconstruire?" was published by the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF), based on collaboration with the College of Public Prosecutors, Unia, the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, and the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology. The survey project mapped hate crime victims' experiences, and needs, as well as barriers hindering victims from reporting hate crimes to state authorities. It collected and analyzed in-depth interviews with 21 victims of hate crime belonging to LGBTI, Roma, Muslim, Jewish , and migrant communities in Flanders, Brussels, and the Wallonia-Brussels regions, as well as 20 representatives of the criminal justice system such as police officers, judges, or mediators.
This category refers to all other discriminatory cases not listed elsewhere.
This number refers only to bias on the grounds of sexual orientation. Crimes motivated by bias against gender identity are not monitored.
The United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) published relevant recommendations in its "Report from the thirty-eight session: Compilation on Belgium."
ODIHR recognizes Belgium's efforts to improve its hate crime recording mechanism. Continuing in the same vein is encouraged since, based on the available information, ODIHR observes that Belgium's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Belgium would benefit from reviewing the existing legal framework in order to ensure that bias motivation can be effectively acknowledged and appropriate penalties can be imposed on the perpetrators.
ODIHR recalls that in the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have agreed to a definition of hate crime shared by all OSCE participating States. They have also committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished throughout the recording and data collection process from crimes of discrimination. In the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have 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 Belgium in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as through further resources and tailored legislative advice.
In addition to incidents summarized below, this graph includes 4 hate incidents reported by Kantor Center as statistics.