Oulu, Finland – A recent surge in hate crime figures has shed light on the prevalence of racially motivated violence, with assault being identified as the most common offense committed with a racist motive. Researcher Jenita Rauta from the Police University College highlighted this trend, noting that while hate crime reports have increased in recent years, violent incidents like the stabbings in Oulu remain relatively rare.
Rauta emphasized the exceptional nature of these occurrences, stating that incidents where individuals face violent attacks in public spaces due to their ethnic background are not common. In 2022, there were 1,200 reports of suspected hate crimes in Finland, a number comparable to the influx of asylum seekers in 2015. These findings align with the recent stabbings at the Valkea shopping center in Oulu, where police suspect racism as the motive.
Notably, assault emerged as the most frequent offense in crimes categorized as racially motivated, often stemming from provocations that escalate into violent altercations. Rauta described these situations as typically starting with verbal abuse directed at individuals of darker skin tones, leading to physical confrontations. Acts of violence can range from spitting and pushing to more serious offenses like threats and slander.
Furthermore, Statistics Finland reported an increase in hate crimes targeting the life or health of victims, with approximately 350 such incidents recorded in the past year, the highest since 2006. Perpetrators of hate crimes are predominantly young white Finnish men, while victims come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the multicultural nature of Finnish society.
The surge in reported cases has been partly attributed to the arrival of Ukrainians following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. Rauta noted that Ukrainians, often mistaken for Russians due to shared language, were disproportionately targeted in hate crimes. The blurring of distinctions between these groups has fueled discriminatory behavior towards Ukrainians, illustrating the complexities of racial prejudice in Finland.
Despite an apparent increase in reporting driven by lower thresholds and social media influence, many hate crimes still go unreported. Police estimates suggest that only about 20% of victims come forward to report such incidents, underscoring the challenges in accurately capturing the full extent of racially motivated offenses in the country.