Viktória Mohácsi: Confronting Hate Crimes Against Roma

Viktória spent decades on the front lines of the fight for Roma rights. In 2004, she was elected a Hungarian Member of the European Parliament, one of only two Roma Euro-parliamentarians at the time. As a parliamentarian, Viktória raised awareness on the plight of Roma communities across Europe and the discrimination they faced.

She was an inspiring voice calling for the European Union to develop a coherent strategy on Roma integration across the continent.

Since 2008, the Roma community in Hungary has been subjected to a series of violent acts motivated by hatred, including severe beatings in broad daylight, murders by arson, shootings and the throwing of Molotov cocktail explosives. After her work in the European parliament, Viktória founded Desegregation, a Hungary-based organization that monitors hate crimes committed against Roma. Despite threats and the fear of possible violent retaliation against herself and her young family, Mohácsi continued to advocate, raise awareness, and improve government responses to these attacks and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.