Council of Europe in Albania, Beyond Definitions a call for action against hate speech, A comprehensive study (November 2021)

Country

Albania

Title

Council of Europe in Albania, Beyond Definitions a call for action against hate speech, A comprehensive study (November 2021)

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Year

2021

Type of publication

Report

Geographical coverage

National

Area/location of interest

Not applicable - national level

Type of Institution

Council of Europe body

Institution

Albania, Council of Europe in Albania, Tirana

Main Thematic Focus

Hate speech

Target Population

General population

Key findings

The data instrument included a question on religion and result showed that 53% identified as Islamic, 14% as Bektashi, 10% as Catholic, and 9% as Orthodox. About 10% had no religious orientation. Around 60% knew what hate speech meant, while 30% knew offensive/discriminatory speech. 6% didn't know either term (56% female, 44% male). 40% associated hate speech with offense, 20% with hatred, and 10% with religious-based discrimination. Respondents were asked about the most common motivation for hate speech. Over half believed poverty/homelessness triggered it. Around 32% cited religion as a motive, and 13% mentioned xenophobia. Among Muslims, 31% saw religion as a main motive. 14% personally experienced hate speech (209 respondents), 108 of whom were Muslims.

Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)

The survey included a sample size of 1.500 respondents among all regions of Albania representative at the national level. The interviews were carried out through two methodologies CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) methodology, and CAWI (Computer assisted Web Interviewing), between 14 January to 1 February 2020. More specifically, about 68 % of the interviews were carried out by telephone and 32 % by web interviewing. The average length of the interview was about 15 minutes. A detailed description of this methodology is provided in the Annex of the report. The survey included a boost of about 300 respondents from the LGBTI and Roma/Egyptian community, in order to provide insight about hate speech specifically for this target groups.

Sample details and representativeness

The target population of the study included the age group 18-64 years old, which is considered to be the eligible population for this survey. The distribution of the sample was based on the official data of the population estimates for the eligible target group of the population. Based on these official data, was projected the number of interviews per each region, and for each region, the urbanity distribution was respected.

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.