The number of reported hate crimes has steadily increased in recent years, nearly doubling from 2020 to 2023.
In 2023, Finland reported a record number of suspected hate crimes, according to a recent report from the Police University College.
A total of 1,606 suspected hate crimes were reported to the police last year, significantly higher than ever before and 29 percent more than the previous year.
The majority of reported hate crimes — 1,092 cases — were linked to the victim’s ethnic or national background. These crimes most commonly occurred on public roads, streets or squares, with assaults being the most frequent type of crime.
In most cases, the suspect was from the majority population, while the victim belonged to a minority group.
Among the victims, 60 percent were men and 40 percent were women. The majority of crimes against men were suspected assaults, whereas women were primarily victims of suspected defamation.
Hate speech fuels crime
The number of reported hate crimes has steadily increased in recent years, nearly doubling from 2020 to 2023.
It now significantly exceeds the peak observed in 2015, when there was a surge in racist hate crimes as tens of thousands of asylum seekers arrived in Finland and discussions about them intensified.
Studies show a strong cause-and-effect relationship between hate speech and hate crimes.
Another spike occurred in 2017 when the police received temporary funding to hire staff specifically to tackle online and social media hate crimes. However, this funding was not continued.
In recent years, the number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland has stayed in the thousands, excluding Ukrainians seeking temporary protection. This figure has not seen the same significant increase as the number of reported hate crime suspicions known to the police.
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