This page provides information on the national frameworks to address hate crime in Belgium. The information provided here should be viewed alongside data presented on Belgium's hate crime report page.

Hate crime recording and data collection

Hate crimes are not defined as such in Belgian legislation. Therefore, a specific code with which to record such crimes as a "hate crime" does not exist. Any violation of the non-discrimination laws that constitutes a criminal offence is registered in a general way as "discrimination" by the police or the prosecutor's office. The databases of the police or the prosecutor's offices do not specify whether the incident is a hate crime or consists of discrimination.

The recording of discrimination and hate crimes is based on instructions that are published in a joint circular for police forces and public prosecutors. This "Circular on the investigation and prosecution policy on discrimination and hate crimes (including discrimination based on sex)" of 2013 (COL 13/2013) provides a policy framework to combat discrimination and hate crimes.

In particular, COL 13/2013 provides instructions for the police and the prosecutor's office on how to correctly register discrimination and hate crimes. When police discover an offence, the base crime is registered under the appropriate thematic code. If police also discover that the motive behind the offence is racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic or against persons with disabilities, the motive will be marked in the context field for the public prosecutor's office as a case of "discrimination and hate crime". Crimes for which a motive is indicated in the context field are registered in the data processing systems ("ISLP" for most local police districts and "FEEDIS" for most entities of the federal police).

The magistrate to whom the report is submitted checks to see whether the secondary prevention code is correct. If the motive is found not to be discriminatory based on the abovementioned criteria, this remark will be crossed out. If the facts of the case indicate that the crime was motivated based on protected criteria but the secondary prevention code has not been included, the magistrate of the public prosecutor's office will add the code.

Statistical data concerning discrimination are collected and provided by the College of Prosecutors-General based on the REA/TPI system or the IT-system "MaCH" used by the public prosecution.

Further, Belgium's equality body 'Unia' records hate crime cases and collects data on hate crimes. The data are sorted by discrimination criteria (including sexual orientation, racial characteristics, disability, etc.), social areas (life in society, employment, police and justice, goods and services, etc.) and by the nature of the offences. 
    
The Institute for the Equality between Women and Men is the equality body responsible for gender and gender-related crime. The Institute records all of the reports it receives in its own database. Figures are compiled in a publicly available annual report to assess the prevalence of these phenomena. 
There is no information sharing agreement between local police forces and civil society organizations (CSOs) or between local police forces and Unia. However, Unia works with the police and CSOs on notices and recommendations. Some police zones focus on sharing contacts with various stakeholders of victimized groups.

Hate crime victim support

Under Belgian law, victims of hate crimes do not have a particular status, rights, or entitlements different from victims of other crimes. Special status is only provided for some categories of victims, such as victims of terrorism and juvenile victims.
    
When a victim reports a hate crime to the police, police officers are required to offer practical assistance and information, prepare official reports and refer the victim to the appropriate unit. The attending police officer is obliged to ask the victim if they would like the support of a specialized police victim service. In emergencies, the attending police team asks for these specialized services automatically. These police victim support services offer assistance, a listening ear and psychological support at the time of the incident and immediately afterwards. They can also provide practical help with various administrative procedures. As they are front-line services, the assistance provided is short-term, and they then provide referrals to specialized services, such as judicial victim support services and victim support services.
The police have standards in place on the sensitive treatment of victims of hate crimes, as well as policies on the investigation and prosecution of discrimination and hate crime cases. In some police districts, police officers use checklists to identify whether the act constitutes a hate crime. Some police districts provide template questionnaires to standardize interviews with the victim, witnesses and suspects. However, such tools are not always used in practice.
Victims of hate crime can also report the incident to Unia or to the Institute for Equality of Women and Men, depending on the case. These equality bodies provide information on the legislation and other legal assistance, and can also refer the victim to specialized social or legal services or organizations.
Judicial victim support services, in collaboration with the public prosecutor's office, offer victims and their relatives specialised assistance related to the judicial procedure. Their missions are to inform, assist and accompany victims during the criminal proceedings. They can also refer victims to other, specialised services or organizations (such as psychosocial or legal help). The intervention of the services of judicial victim support is free of charge. There is one judicial victim support service per judicial district.
The general mission of victim support services is to provide social and psychological assistance to victims of crime and their relatives.  These support services are independent of the police and judicial authorities. These services provide free social support aimed at restoring the living conditions of the victim and reintegration into work life or psychological support adapted to the needs of the victims in order to help them find a new life balance. This support can be short-term or long-term, depending on the needs of the victim. When the victim wishes so, they can be accompanied by a representative of the service for certain steps (e.g., visits to a doctor or police station). When needed, the victim is referred to more specialized organizations (e.g., for psychotherapeutic support).
Several civil society organizations (CSOs) assist and support victims of hate crime, including the Collective against Islamophobia in Belgium (CIIB), LGBTQIA+ organizations running "Rainbow Houses", and Jewish community associations. These organizations accompany victims of hate crime and encourage them to file a complaint and seek support. In general, the work of CSOs is not formally integrated into the overall system of assistance to hate crime victims, although some CSOs have partnered with Unia. CSOs do not have structural subsidies to hire people to sustain their services and often rely on the help of volunteers.

Hate crime capacity building

Police officers take part in training courses on hate crime. These training courses are intended to make police officers aware of possible unconscious biases and the serious consequences such biases can have for both the public they serve and their colleagues.

Basic training for reference officers under COL 13/2013 (the joint circular for police forces and public prosecutors on the investigation and prosecution policy regarding discrimination and hate crimes) is provided regularly to new reference officers. It is updated according to the recommendations of the study of the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology on under-reporting and dismissal of discrimination offences (2020). Unia provides training on anti-discrimination legislation to police officers within the framework of the circular and regularly invites relevant partners from civil society so that they can share their knowledge and expertise on hate crime.      
The Belgian Judicial Training Institute (IGO-IFJ) is responsible for the training of magistrates and court staff.  The Insitute organizes a specialized training course on discrimination and hate crimes on an annual basis. The training is mandatory for the Belgian judicial trainees of the second year (future judges and prosecutors) and open for all interested magistrates. It was developed in collaboration with Unia (the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities) and the Institute for the Equality of women and men.

A specialized training session on hate crimes and discrimination was organized in 2015 and in 2017 and open to all magistrates and judicial assistants of the public prosecutor's office and courts office. A new edition of the training session is currently in development, and will aim to deepen participants' knowledge of hate speech and hate crimes.

A training session on diversity in the courtroom provides an overview of how representations, prejudices and stereotypes can indirectly influence the judicial process. The training session has been organized since 2020 and is open to all interested judges.

Belgian judicial trainees visit the Kazerne Dossin (Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on the Holocaust and Human Rights in Mechelen) together with judicial trainees from other EU Member States taking part in the AIAKOS programme (an exchange programme for judicial trainees in Europe). In Belgium, participation in the AIAKOS programme is obligatory for all judicial trainees.