tgeu Monitoring transphobic incidents Basic principles of documenting transphobic incidents When setting up a consistent monitoring affectedness of the transgender commu- system, victims’ needs and rights also nity, sufficient attention needs to be paid need to be catered for. Victims need to to document the bias aspect of the crime. know what details of their incident will n this section, we give a brief overview of Civil-society groups might rely on various Several indicators might suggest that be shared and with which third parties, some considerations to keep in mind when data sources when monitoring incidents bias was involved when the perpetrator and they need to consent to provide their (victims, witnesses, police, media, NGOs, committed the act (e.g. offensive langua- details for civil-society organisations’ re- I starting a systematic monitoring activity.10 etc.). If the aim is to produce credible ge used, offender characteristics, such as cording. Legal complications might arise In order to provide firm data for govern- data, it is essential that the data collected belonging to a group, etc. – more on bias from the relevant data-protection legisla- ments, international bodies, local authori- is based on direct evidence as much as indicators on page 25-26). tion, which must therefore be studied ca- ties or any other stakeholders, data need possible. Therefore, reports that come to be compatible with the national data- to our attention should be verified if pos- It is also very important to choose care- Victims have the right to know what will collection standards and legal categories in sible; e.g. besides the victim’s reports or fully from existing mechanisms for re- happen with the documentation of the in- use. Because criminal codes, anti-discrimi- media articles, we should also ask witnes- ceiving reports of transphobic incidents. cident they have reported and the exact nation laws and other legal tools vary grea- ses about their perceptions, if any. Proper The most common mechanisms are: steps that will take place during the mo- tly between jurisdictions, it is challenging to follow-up is especially important if our apply uniform definitions of discrimination, source of information is a newspaper or various types of crimes or hate speech in any other less credible media outlet. a single multi-country database. Therefore, we are using a common classification Hate-motivated incidents differ from system to determine the category of the other forms of crimes in that they target transphobic incident in question, which is a whole group by selecting individual also in line with OSCE ODIHR (Office for victims by their (perceived) membership Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in that group. These incidents thus have a of the Organization for Security and Co- profound impact on entire communities. refully before engaging in data collection. • • • • nitoring process. In order to avoid unmet setting up an online reporting form expectations, those who agree to share that enables victims to report direct- their stories need to be aware of the limi- ly and anonymously if they wish13 tations of fact-based advocacy, too. phone hotline (providing support by skilled phone case workers) TGEU’s monitoring tool aims to ensure face-to-face meeting with victims the greatest degree of confidentiality of media monitoring victims with enhanced security measures, e.g. no storage of names. But those groups Groups need to think through the resour- or NGOs that sign up for this tool must operation in Europe) standards (detailed ces they have, the needs of the commu- also aim for maximum security in their in the next section on page 21-23).12 nity and socio-cultural factors when de- own data-collection practices, complying ciding on which monitoring mechanism with national standards and the specific to use. Both face-to-face interviews and needs of local community members. 11 10) The list is not exclusive. For further information, please consult the following materials: • The Facing Facts! Project’s Monitoring Guidelines (available in various languages): http://www.ceji.org/facingfacts/?page_id=411 14 In order to highlight this aspect and the • ILGA-Europe’s human-rights documentation tools: http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/ how_we_work/developing/resources_on_capacity_building/tools 11) ODIHR supports government officials in designing and developing monitoring mechanisms and data collection on hate crimes. 12) http://www.osce.org/odihr/39821?download=true the operation of a phone hotline require great capacity to assist victims of transphobic incidents. 13) One example to be used is the form of Transgender Equality Network Ireland, available at https:// transequality.wufoo.eu/forms/stad-2014/ 15