Hate crime legislation

Is the burning of the Pride flag a hate crime?

Is the burning of the Pride flag a hate crime?

By Mark Walters, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Sussex. Pride month is a celebration of all things LGBTQ+. Yet recently it has become a source of division, both between LGBTQ+ communities and wider society, as well as between subgroups within the community itself. Of particular contention has been the use of a…

A Response to the Law Commission’s Hate Crime Law Final Report

A Response to the Law Commission’s Hate Crime Law Final Report

By Jon Garland, Jo Smith, Mark Walters and Irene Zempi On December 7th the Law Commission for England and Wales published its long awaited final report on hate crime laws. In 2018 the Government requested that the Commission look into whether the law should be expanded to include new characteristics (including gender or sex) and…

Understanding the harms of hate crime

Understanding the harms of hate crime

BY DR JENNY PATERSON, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY; PROF MARK WALTERS, SCHOOL OF LAW, PLITICS AND SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX After the England men’s football team reached their first major final in 55 years, the national headlines should have been celebrating their exceptional achievement. Instead, the focus quickly turned to the vile racist abuse targeted…

HCAW Blog #3: Should sex workers be included in the legal definition of hate crime?

HCAW Blog #3: Should sex workers be included in the legal definition of hate crime?

Rosie Campbell and Teela Sanders @RosieCa27236598 and @TeelaSanders On 23 September 2020, the Law Commission published its consultation paper for its review of hate crime law. Associated media coverage focused on debates about whether sex or gender should be a protected characteristic in law in England and Wales. Media coverage only touched on the Commission’s…

Introducing the Blog Carnival for Hate Crime Awareness Week UK - Blog #1 Beyond the Hate Crime Headlines: new manifestations, new spaces

Introducing the Blog Carnival for Hate Crime Awareness Week UK – Blog #1 Beyond the Hate Crime Headlines: new manifestations, new spaces

National Hate Crime Awareness Week (NHCAW) is a week-long initiative that seeks to raise awareness not only about the harms of hate but so too what we can individually and collectively do about it. Originally conceived as a Facebook group in 2009 to mark the 10th anniversary of the London nail bomb attacks on Brixton,…

Have Ethnic-Minority Transwomen been forgotten?

Have Ethnic-Minority Transwomen been forgotten?

Author’s Bio: Isabelle Ehiorobo is a 3rd year Law undergraduate studying at the University of Sussex. Isabelle has interests in tackling social justice issues through writing, campaigning and public speaking . She aspires to practice as a Human Rights Lawyer worldwide and also aims to pursue her passion for writing, ultimately becoming an author. Have…

‘Conference Proceedings Conference on Hate Crimes in South East Europe’: A Review

‘Conference Proceedings Conference on Hate Crimes in South East Europe’: A Review

By: Joanna Perry As Bogdanić and Rakić point out in this volume, hate crimes have been with us ‘since the distant past’. Indeed, people acting on their racism, homophobia, disablism, and religious intolerance in harmful and discriminatory ways across the world is hardly new. However, as the contributions to this book illustrate, understanding and addressing…

The Life Cycle of a Hate Crime: Recommendations for effectively combating hate crime across Europe

The Life Cycle of a Hate Crime: Recommendations for effectively combating hate crime across Europe

Introduction In 2015 five members of the International Network for Hate Studies from the Czech Republic, England and Wales, Ireland, Latvia and Sweden successfully applied for an Action Grant from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers with our project entitled “Life Cycle of a Hate Crime”. The key aim of the project was…

Of Hate Hierarchies and Other Animals (Act 2)

Of Hate Hierarchies and Other Animals (Act 2)

By Dr Natalie Alkiviadou,(PhD, LLM, LLB), lecturer in European Law and Human Rights at the University of Central Lancashire Cyprus and Director of AEQUITAS, an NGO working on human rights education. A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post on how international and European law, which is relevant to challenging hate speech, is marred…

A new Hate Crime Act is needed to address vast ‘justice gap’ for hate crime in England and Wales

A new Hate Crime Act is needed to address vast ‘justice gap’ for hate crime in England and Wales

By Dr Mark Walters, co-Director of the International Network for Hate Studies It is almost twenty years since the UK Government enacted specific race hate crime offences (ss. 28-32 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA)). Since then, the legislation has been amended to include religious-based hate crimes, while sentencing provisions that prescribe sexual orientation, disability…

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