In conjunction with the hosting of the World Outgames in 2009, Copenhagen Police, the Danish National Association of Gays & Lesbians (LBL), the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and the City of Copenhagen launched a campaign to tackle hate crimes in Denmark.
Despite Denmark’s long-standing liberal attitude to gays and lesbians, figures from the Danish National Police indicate that about 3,400 persons experienced what they regarded as homophobic attacks in Denmark in 2008.
The organizations backing the campaign are hoping to reduce this figure.
DIHR Equality expert, Mandana Zarrehparvar, believes that the campaign can play an important role in informing minorities of their rights: “Besides the fact that we are running an information campaign to make the public aware of the problem, the campaign is also about telling minorities that they actually possess rights which protect them from harm. One of the main goals of this campaign is to increase the number of hate crimes being reported by victims, and organizations such as the police and LBL can assist us in achieving this,” she said.
The World Outgames 2009 is an international event for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals, where sport, culture and human rights are all in focus. The event took place in Copenhagen between 25 July - 2 August this year.
“We found it appropriate to launch this campaign against hate crimes as part of the World Outgames and we hope that the campaign and the celebrations surrounding the Outgames will help to achieve a greater mutual respect for different lifestyles and outlooks," said Mandana Zarrehparvar.
“I would also like to express our gratitude to the Tryg Foundation, Copenhagen Police and Copenhagen Municipality. Without their wholehearted commitment and financial support for the campaign it would have been impossible to realize all our goals,” she concluded.
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