15. October 07
According to the results of a recent racism and xenophobia survey commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, there is no base for an increase of the number of hate crimes in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />
Estonia, considering the attitudes and feeling of security of people in
Estonia.
According to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Eerik Hanni, an adviser with the Criminal Statistics and Analysis Division of the Ministry of Justice, the aim of the survey was to assess the attitude of Estonians towards people with other cultural, religious or racial backgrounds living in Estonia and to estimate the risk of hate crimes.
“This survey was the first of its kind in the sphere of criminal policy, as the situation of hate crimes has not been comprehensively examined in Estonia yet," Hanni explained. “I would like to emphasise that the survey was not related to integration issues, but constituted an analysis of hate crimes arising from xenophobia.”
“It is good to observe that according to the results of the survey, there is currently no base for an increase in the number of hate crimes in Estonia," Hanni stated.
The survey was organised by the Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the University of Tartu and it comprised three stages. In the first stage attitudes towards racism and races in nationwide Estonian newspapers were examined; in the second stage attitudes towards racism and xenophobia in Estonian-language Internet environments were analysed, and in the third stage a poll concerning xenophobia and racism was carried out among people in the form of a questionnaire.
