Victimization surveys and data analysis
Capturing experience of hate crime
In 2017-18 I was commissioned (in partnership with Magdalena Świder) by the OSCE Mission to Skopje to design a hate crime victimization survey of North Macedonia. The survey, with fieldwork carried out by BRIMA in June and July 2018, was unique. It was the first sample survey that sought to capture experience of hate crime in the country.
I was further commissioned to advise on the fieldwork and analyse and report on the survey findings.
The survey aimed to provide a more comprehensive account of hate crime victimization and its impact than had previously been available from official and NGO data for the country.
Underlining the need to respond effectively to hate crime
The objectives of the survey were to:
- Provide evidence as to the need to develop effective measures that respond to and combat hate crime;
- Guide targeted policy and strategy by national and local authorities, and;
- Support civil society organisations in their advocacy work.
Reliable and internationally comparable measures
For reliability and comparability of measurement the hate crime survey used measures of crime victimization impact applied in previous surveys internationally.
In combination, the measures constituted the most extensive examination to date on the impact of hate crime.
Key findings
Extent of hate crime far greater than shown by official and NGO data
From a sample of 1510 respondents the survey found 165 respondents who were victims of hate crime in the 12 months before the survey. This number is significant when it is considered that these persons were part of just a small fraction of the country’s population who were selected for the survey.
Reporting to the police
Six out of ten hate crimes were not reported to the police. Half of other crimes captured by the survey were also not reported.
Hate crimes hurt more
The results confirmed a pattern already in evidence from surveys internationally. Hate crime victims are more likely as a group to report post-victimization socio-emotional, psychological, psychosomatic and behavioural impacts compared with other crime victims as a group.
In going further than the prior international evidence, however, the hate crime survey also showed that hate crime victims are more likely than victims of other crime to express worry about potential crime victimization. They are also more likely to report post-traumatic stress type symptoms.
