Diskrimination, antisemitisme, hadforbrydelser og ekstremisme

Frihed og demokrati er grundlæggende idealer i Danmark, og de står i grundloven. Grundloven giver fx ytringsfrihed, religionsfrihed, foreningsfrihed og forsamlingsfrihed. Men friheden må ikke bruges til at skade andre, så staten har ret til at sætte grænser for den. Man siger, at frihed skal bruges under ansvar. Det er derfor ulovligt at diskriminere, altså at behandle mennesker dårligere end andre, fx på grund af religion, politisk holdning, køn, hudfarve, alder eller seksuel orientering.

Freedom and democracy are basic ideals in Denmark, and they are written in grundloven (the Constitution). The Constitution gives, for example, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of association and freedom of assembly. But freedom must not be used to harm others, so the state has the right to set limits on it. People say that freedom must be used responsibly. That is why it is illegal to discriminate, that is, to treat people worse than others, for example because of religion, political views, gender, skin colour, age or sexual orientation.

Flere love forbyder diskrimination. En arbejdsgiver må fx ikke sortere ansøgere fra på grund af deres etniske oprindelse, og man må heller ikke af den grund nægte folk adgang til offentlige steder. Det er også forbudt offentligt at håne eller true andre på grund af fx race, religion eller seksuel orientering, at opfordre til vold mod en bestemt gruppe eller at vise tydelig støtte til et terrorangreb, der er sket. Lovene skal beskytte religiøse, etniske og seksuelle minoriteter, så de ikke bliver udsat for overgreb eller behandlet forskelligt uden grund.

Several laws forbid discrimination. An employer must not, for example, reject applicants because of their ethnic origin, and nor may people be refused entry to public places for that reason. It is also forbidden to mock or threaten others in public because of, for example, race, religion or sexual orientation, to call for violence against a particular group, or to show clear support for a terrorist attack that has taken place. The laws are meant to protect religious, ethnic and sexual minorities so that they are not attacked or treated differently without good reason.

Selvom Danmark har en lang tradition for lighed, oplever nogle diskrimination. Ifølge undersøgelser har næsten halvdelen af dem med ikke-vestlig indvandrerbaggrund oplevet det på grund af deres etniske oprindelse. Studier viser også, at det kan være sværere at leje en bolig eller blive kaldt til jobsamtale, hvis man har visse udenlandske navne. Det gælder også, når man har de samme kvalifikationer som ansøgere med typisk danske navne.

Although Denmark has a long tradition of equality, some people experience discrimination. According to surveys, almost half of those with a non-Western immigrant background have experienced it because of their ethnic origin. Studies also show that it can be harder to rent a home or be invited to a job interview if you have certain foreign names. This is also true when you have the same qualifications as applicants with typically Danish names.

En hadforbrydelse er en forbrydelse, som bliver begået på grund af fx ofrets etniske oprindelse, religion eller seksuelle orientering. Den kan straffes særlig hårdt. Fra 2022 til 2024 registrerede politiet 2.108 sager, i gennemsnit cirka to om dagen. Den største gruppe handlede om ofrenes race eller etnicitet. Typisk er der tale om hadefulde ytringer, vold, hærværk eller trusler. Mange anmelder ikke den slags til politiet, så det reelle tal er usikkert.

A hadforbrydelse (hate crime) is a crime that is committed because of, for example, the victim's ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation. It can be punished particularly severely. From 2022 to 2024, the police registered 2,108 cases, on average about two a day. The largest group was about the victims' race or ethnicity. Typically, these are hateful statements, violence, vandalism or threats. Many people do not report this kind of thing to the police, so the real number is uncertain.

Jøderne i Danmark er særligt udsatte for hadforbrydelser. Der bor mellem 6.000 og 8.000 jøder i landet, men politiet registrerede 430 hadforbrydelser mod jøder i 2022-24. Det var omkring hver femte af alle hadforbrydelser. I 2019 væltede mænd fra en nynazistisk bevægelse gravsten på en jødisk gravplads i Randers og hældte maling på dem. Det skete på årsdagen for Krystalnatten. I 2015 dræbte en terrorist med sympati for Islamisk Stat en jødisk vagt ved synagogen i København. Tidligere samme dag havde han dræbt en filminstruktør ved et debatmøde om ytringsfrihed. Efter oktober 2023, hvor konflikten mellem Israel og Hamas begyndte, kom der flere trusler og mere chikane mod jøder i Danmark.

The Jews in Denmark are particularly exposed to hate crime. Between 6,000 and 8,000 Jews live in the country, but the police registered 430 hate crimes against Jews in 2022–24. That was about one in five of all hate crimes. In 2019, men from a neo-Nazi movement knocked over gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in Randers and poured paint on them. It happened on the anniversary of Krystalnatten (Kristallnacht). In 2015, a terrorist who sympathised with Islamic State killed a Jewish guard at the synagogue in Copenhagen. Earlier the same day, he had killed a film director at a debate meeting about freedom of expression. After October 2023, when the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, there were more threats and more harassment against Jews in Denmark.

Nogle forbrydelser rammer folk på grund af deres politiske synspunkter. I 2003 blev statsministeren og udenrigsministeren angrebet med maling i Folketinget i protest mod, at Danmark støttede USA's invasion af Irak. Domstolene så det som særligt alvorligt, fordi folkestyrets repræsentanter blev angrebet. Antallet af politikere, som Politiets Efterretningstjeneste (PET) beskytter med livvagter, er steget i de senere årtier. Der er også faldet dom i andre sager, fx om nazistisk graffiti og en brand i en bil på et asylcenter i 2015. En partileder blev i 2020 dømt for hadefulde udtalelser om muslimer, og i 2025 fik tre personer fængsel for grov vold mod to homoseksuelle mænd.

Some crimes target people because of their political views. In 2003, the prime minister and the foreign minister were attacked with paint in Folketinget (the Danish Parliament) in protest against Denmark supporting the USA's invasion of Iraq. The courts saw this as particularly serious, because representatives of democracy were attacked. The number of politicians whom Politiets Efterretningstjeneste (PET, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service) protects with bodyguards has risen in recent decades. There have also been convictions in other cases, for example about Nazi graffiti and a car set on fire at an asylum centre in 2015. In 2020 a party leader was convicted of hateful statements about Muslims, and in 2025 three people were sent to prison for serious violence against two gay men.