Hate Crimes in Poland: Insights from Case File Research

This paper presents the findings of empirical research on hate crimes, conducted in 2022 and 2023, in courts in three major Polish cities: Krakow, Warsaw, and Katowice. Using a qualitative methodology, we analysed 259 cases concluded between 2016 and 2021. The primary objective of the study was to explore the social perceptions of Islam and the Muslim community in Poland among hate crime perpetrators, and, to some extent, judges, we also collected data on hate crimes against other minority groups.

This broader scope enabled us to offer a more nuanced understanding of hate crimes brought before the Polish courts—identifying who is most often targeted, and who is overlooked due to the narrow legal definition of hate crimes in Polish criminal law. Notably, attacks motivated by prejudice based on sexual orientation are not classified as hate crimes. We also examined reasons why judges in some cases decided to not qualify certain incidents as hate crimes. One of them, which we consider doubtful, was the the belief that a perpetrator cannot commit a hate crime against their own community.

Particular attention was paid to online hate crimes, where we observed that, despite convictions, hateful content often remains visible in the online sphere causing an ongoing harm. Additionally, we focused on hate crimes targeting women, particularly examining the circumstances of these attacks.

Based on our findings, we propose recommendations for the judicial system, education, and future research.