hate crime

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…

Dismantling hate through cultural consumption

Dismantling hate through cultural consumption

By Daria Denti, Economist, and Assistant Professor at the Gran Sasso Science Institute, L’Aquila, Italy and Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics The spread of hate has stimulated institutional commitments in victim support, deterrence, and the investigation of local risk and protective factors associated with the emergence of hate. Current research on risk…

Shiaphobic Hate Crime: an invisible yet growing form of sectarian hate

Shiaphobic Hate Crime: an invisible yet growing form of sectarian hate

by Michael Dhanoya and Dr Chris Allen, University of Leicester In recent months, a number of events have catalysed a rise in Shiaphobia.  Unlike Islamophobia which typically refers to religiously-motivated hate perpetrated by non-Muslims against Muslims, Shiaphobia may be loosely defined as religiously-motivated hate perpetrated by Sunni Muslims against Shi’a Muslims. Here in the UK,…

Reforming Indian hate speech laws’

Reforming Indian hate speech laws’

By Sarthak Gupta  In India, the polarization in religion between the majority community and the minority community has been long-drawn-out because of rich-cultural history. However, from the 19th Century, the foremost root of political and societal polarization in India has been a foundational question of nationhood – Should India be a secular republic or 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…

The Re-Emergence of ‘Race’ Among the British Far-Right

The Re-Emergence of ‘Race’ Among the British Far-Right

By Prof Chris Allen Around the turn of the 21st century, an ideological turn was evident within the British far-right milieu. Breaking with tradition, far-right groups turned away from their focus on ‘race’, Judaism and Jewish people in preference of Islam and Muslims. Spearheaded by the British National Party (BNP), those such as the English…

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 #7: A Safe Space for Roma in Europe

HCAW Blog #7: A Safe Space for Roma in Europe

G. Bolton While 2023 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the European Union, the next few years are likely to be some of the most difficult in the bloc’s history. One of the greatest challenges posed comes from the rise of populist politics. Putting the national agenda first, populism simultaneously appeals to ‘the people’ – those…

HCAW Blog #6: Homeless Hate: The pandemic’s impact on prejudice

HCAW Blog #6: Homeless Hate: The pandemic’s impact on prejudice

Emily Wertans Although not traditionally viewed as hate crime victims, the homeless are regularly subjected to abuse, hostility, exclusion and violence. With scarce physical protection coupled with ineffective and underutilised legislative support, homeless individuals are in many ways ‘easy targets’. In a Covid-19 climate consumed by fears around health, safety and acting on assumptions to…

HCAW Blog #5: The dark side of social media: the problem of LGBT+ online hate

HCAW Blog #5: The dark side of social media: the problem of LGBT+ online hate

Rachel Keighley @Rachel_Keighley My first encounter with hate crime came in Durham when a group of young lads in a car shouted out of their window at my girlfriend and I who were holding hands walking down the street. To ensure we got the point, they then did a U-turn, so they could pass by…

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