Flax, Maya (2018) Do you qualify to be a hate crime victim? New Vistas, 3 (2). pp. 24-27. ISSN 2056-9688

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Abstract

Consideration to hate crime can be traced to the beginning of the 1980s. Hate crime, as a criminal category, originated as a result of the collective suffering of minority groups who were subjected to discrimination, harassment and violence from majority communities (Gerstenfeld, 2013). A hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on that person's actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity (College of Policing, 2014).
Regardless of this important legal development, it is a fact that some victims of hate crime manage to have recourse to courts of law while others are not recognised as victims of hate crime despite meeting all the legal requirements. This article addresses this question, showing that in order to 'qualify' as a victim, the group or victim needs to benefit from some sort of 'social recognition'. In the first instance, this article highlights the significant impact that hate crime has on both individuals and communities. It then shows that neither meeting the legal definition of a hate crime nor being deeply effected by a hate crime, automatically 'qualifies' one to be a victim. It concludes from the above that the word 'victim' only takes its full meaning when it is examined against the social context in which an offence takes place and the social recognition any group might have gained to qualify as victims

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2017 University of West London
Keywords:	Hate crime, victim, recognition
Subjects:	Law and criminal justice > Criminal justice Law and criminal justice > Criminal justice > Criminal law Law and criminal justice
Depositing User:	Maya Flax
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2018 15:02
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2024 12:03
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/4368

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