Three out of 100 Swiss have experienced a hate crime

Insults were the most common form of "hate crime". In 40.1% of the cases, the assault was based on origin, followed by assaults based on gender and appearance. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Slightly more than three out of 100 Swiss people have been victims of a hate crime, i.e. crime motivated by prejudice. According to a Swiss university study, this is the first representative survey of this type of crime in Switzerland.

As the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders announced on Thursday, insults were the most common. In 40.1% of the cases, the assault was based on origin, followed by assaults based on gender and appearance.

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These results are part of the latest safety survey published on Thursday, which the University of St Gallen and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) conducted last year on behalf of the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders. This “Crime Survey” is available for the first time since 2015.

Further results state that according to the approximately 15,500 respondents, property crimes such as theft and robbery have decreased compared to 2015, while more people have become victims of cybercrime.

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