Racism and prejudice in Spain Statistics & Facts
In 2023, Real Madrid superstar VinÃcius Jr., publicly condemned the racist verbal abuse he had endured during several La Liga matches in Spain, shining a spotlight on the country’s ongoing fight against racism. In 2023 there were almost 2,300 hate crimes, marking a 21 percent increase from the previous year. The reasons for this unfortunate crimes are diverse, but the last reports indicate that, 41 percent were based on racism and xenophobia, while 23 percent were related to gender identity.
While racism and discrimination remain persistent issues in Spanish society, efforts to combat hate crimes have seen progress, particularly with the enactment of the Law on Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination in 2022. A significant milestone was the recent conviction of three Valencia fans for inciting racism and discrimination against VinÃcius Jr., resulting in an eight-month prison sentence.
Religion-based hate crimes
In recent years, Islamophobia has become more prevalent in Spain, where Muslims are one of the biggest religion minorities. According to a recent survey, Muslims were the religion most discriminated against with a 78.2 percent of the people saying they had already been victim of religious discrimination. Adding to that a recent report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, showed that 18 percent of Muslins suffered of some type of discrimination in the country in the last 12 months and 31 percent suffered the same in the last five years.Facing prejudice: afro-descendant discrimination and Its impact
Afro-descendant communities are also frequent targets of hate crimes in Spain. In particular, the rise in migration waves from Senegal, Algeria, Mali and, Nigeria have been accompanied by a surge in anti-immigration and racially motivated hate speech. A recent survey indicated, for example, that 41 percent of the African and Afro-descendant population feel they receive no protection from the state, while 71 percent believe discrimination based on ethnic origin or skin colour is highly prevalent.Radiography of the victims
In 2023, nearly 60 percent of victims of hate crimes were men, and 32 percent were aged between 26 and 40 years old. While six out of ten victims were Spanish nationals, foreign nationals, including Moroccans and Colombians, were also among the primary targets of this category of crimes. Additionally, 19 percent of all hate crimes that year involved threats against victims, while 16.6 percent led to physical injuries.While racism and discrimination remain persistent issues in Spanish society, efforts to combat hate crimes have seen progress, particularly with the enactment of the Law on Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination in 2022. A significant milestone was the recent conviction of three Valencia fans for inciting racism and discrimination against VinÃcius Jr., resulting in an eight-month prison sentence.
