This interactive workshop, organised in the framework of the Council of Europe Journalists Matter Campaign, sheds light on the growing problem of hate speech and online and offline abuse targeting women journalists and why it matters for democracy. Combining a powerful first-hand testimony, fresh European research and concrete national responses, the session moves beyond diagnosis to explore challenges, trends and practical approaches to preventing abuse and strengthening protection for women journalists.

Building on the experience of Open for Business and Federacja Znaki Równości (Federation of Equality Signs), members of the European Pride Business Network (EPBN), the workshop aims to help municipalities understand how they can support local businesses in becoming more LGBTIQ inclusive and how this contributes to stronger local economies and social cohesion. It is particularly relevant for stakeholders seeking practical tools to align diversity, social cohesion and competitiveness strategies, as well as for those looking to engage more strategically with local authorities.

Please sign up also for the first part of this session (workshop A2 – 17 June, 9:30-11:00)

The thematic session offers space to discuss experiences, opportunities and challenges in using online reporting platforms. The session includes a presentation of the project Report Hate and the work to promote an online reporting platform by the Jugendstiftung Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Furthermore, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, North Macedonia will share their experiences from the online platforms www.govornaomraza.mk and www.zlostorstvaodomraza.com and their use for reporting and monitoring hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents. Lastly, Háttér Society’s reporting platform – Report Homophobia! will be shared as an example of an online platform where victims and witnesses can report homophobic and transphobic hate speech, hate crimes and discrimination in Hungary.

The session presents the multistakeholder cooperation in practice, with specific examples and guiding policies from Spain including on investigation and prosecution of criminalised hate speech and hate crime. The General Prosecutor’s office of Spain presents their approach in prosecution of hate crime and the cooperation with the local police and OBERAXE. The local police of Murcia contribute with their open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations and cooperation offered to other police units in countering hate crimes, and OBERAXE shares also their work in countering hate speech. All contributions will reflect on a recent case of anti-migrant hate crime incident in Torre Pacheco.

In the framework of an ongoing European project VicTory, a handbook aimed at professionals working with victims of hate and extremism was developed. This toolkit is focusing on the promotion of multi-agency cooperation in victim support and will be presented during the thematic session by an expert from Lusófona University, Portugal. Furthermore, the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, Spain, will present their analysis of gaps and best practices in the implementation of policy responses for victims of hate crime in Europe.

The workshop aims to introduce participants to the educational approaches of human rights education as outlined in Compass and Bookmarks aimed at supporting the countering of hate speech. Participants will discover resources and tools for youth work and educational activities on fostering human rights awareness and providing practical ways of identifying, combating and responding to hate speech.