Attacks
The anti-racism organization ZARA has noted an increase in racist attacks in Austria.
There are no general statistics on hate crimes in Austria, since many such crimes are investigated as ordinary crimes, with the "hatred" component recognized as aggravating circumstances, thereby increasing the potential sentence. The data we have indicate that Austria is not the leader for hate crimes in the EU. Moreover, it is at the bottom of the list.
Yet still, there were 24 cases of hate attacks in the country in 2016, according to the Interior Ministry, an increase of four cases compared to 2015. According to the same data, however, the number of attacks in 2018 dropped back to 2015 levels. But according to the anti-racist nongovernmental organization ZARA, which has stricter evaluation criteria and an extensive monitoring network, there were 199 cases already in 2019 (see chart).
According to report 2021, there were 1,977 racist attacks in Austria in 2020 alone, more than half of which occurred online (1,117 episodes). There were 273 racist attacks in public places, and 185 people were subjected to racist treatment in the service and entertainment industries. The report added that there were 112 racist attacks in public institutions and organizations and 104 racist attacks in the workplace. In addition, 84 pieces of racist/hate speech appeared in print media and politics. According to the report, women are twice as likely as men to experience racism in public places, and only 22% of victims have reported racist attacks to ZARA, with the majority of reported incidents reported by third parties.
According to OSCE ODIHR, 307 hate crimes were reported in Austria in 2018. 407 cases were investigated. In 2019 the ratio was 125/421 and in 2020 it was 156/436.
