Security in Europe
SASCE – Safer and Stronger Communities in EU
The European Buddhist Union is a key partner in SASCE (Safer and Stronger Communities in Europe), a European Commission-funded interfaith initiative, working with Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe to improve the safety of their communities and places of worship since 2020.
SASCE (and other similar projects involving other faith communities) is part of a more general European strategy to improve public safety, including crisis management.
SASCE collates monthly reports of attacks on Buddhists, Christians, Jews and Muslims. Though under-reported, attacks on Buddhists have included hate speech, personal violence, break-ins, theft and arson attacks and have been directed at Buddhist nuns, monks, laypeople, temples, centres and monasteries.
Fortunately, it appears that the risk of such attacks can be very effectively reduced by following well-tried guidelines. To this end, SASCE provides help to Buddhist communities to:
- improve security awareness around places of worship,
- provide crisis management training,
- develop practical security tools and guides,
- strengthen cooperation with police and public authorities, and
- help communities respond to threats such as hate crimes, vandalism, extremist attacks, and emergencies.
Buddhist ‘security ambassadors’
SASCE is creating a network of Buddhist ‘security ambassadors’ in each country (also ideally in each Buddhist tradition) to co-ordinate and share information locally. These security ambassadors are provided with regular online 1-hour briefings on security and crisis management. SASCE also provides:
- training for community leaders and volunteers
- an incident reporting system
- practical guides for community leaders, worshippers, and law enforcement
- security assessments for places of worship
- helped to improve communication with police and authorities
- sharing best practice
- practical safety guidance and crisis-response tools
- digital tools, mobile security support
