Respect.lu Intervened in 34 Radicalisation-related Situations in 2020

Luxembourg non-profit association SOS Radicalisation asbl and its prevention and advice centre Respect.lu have published their annual report for 2020, a turbulent year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to fulfil its mission of preventing radicalisation, SOS Radicalisation had planned to hold 20 continuous training sessions. Due to the pandemic, only fourteen of them could take place. Nevertheless, a total of 502 people took part in these sessions, which are tailored to the needs of different target groups. 

An additional 200 people attended the association's two virtual events last year.

2020 also saw the new respect.lu website go live, thus offering the service better visibility on the web.

As the interlocutor for anyone who is confronted with the phenomenon of radicalisation, respect.lu continued to offer a low threshold service where people could contact the team (anonymously) if they wished. In 2020, the centre intervened in 34 such situations, including three as part of the "Dialoguer au lieu de haïr" (talk instead of hate) project, which launched that same year.

The centre noted that these figures do not allow us to read a trend or to make an overall assessment of the situation in Luxembourg. They only show the people with whom the centre has worked in the past year. On the one hand, there are situations which require a rather temporary and short intervention on its part; on the other hand, there are situations in a more complex system (family and environment of the "radicalised" individual) which require intensive long-term support.

Respect.lu noted that the danger of radicalisation exists across all social classes and ages. In 2020, the centre had to address eleven situations involving young people aged 12 to 18. Even adults can be fall into the trap of recruiters (on- and offline) during moments of crisis. It is thus essential to recognise the signs of radicalisation.

Anyone looking for support or advice on this subject can contact Respect.lu via email: respect@respect.lu or tel.: 206-062.