Hate Crime Overview and Types

Study Notes

Hate crime is a criminal act motivated by prejudice against a group.
Victims may belong to LGBTQ+ communities, foreign national groups, or racial groups.
Offenders aim to humiliate and dehumanize victims.
Hate crimes can involve robbery and other crimes where the victim's identity (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender) is a factor.
Hate crimes involve mixed motives, including robbery.

Hate victimisation covers hate crime, hate speech, and intentional discrimination.
Hate crimes involve violence or bullying against individuals due to their identity.
Corrective rape is a criminal practice, where men rape lesbian women to "cure" them of their sexual orientation.

Hate crimes are less likely to be reported due to uncertainty over what constitutes a hate crime and fear of retaliation.
Hate crimes often occur in sustained harassment contexts, such as home, school, and tertiary education.
Victims' distrust of the police and criminal justice system contributes to underreporting.
Victims also experience shame about their identity being attacked.
Ignorance of hate crime laws by victims and law enforcement contributes to underreporting.
Data on hate crime is lacking, making international comparison difficult.
Race-based hate crimes are globally prevalent.
Racism was institutionalised and internalised in South Africa.

Notable incidents include outbreaks of attacks against foreign nationals, murders and rapes of black lesbians, and other racially motivated crimes.
Historical examples include dragging black people to death behind motor vehicles and feeding them to lions.

Hate crime's impact extends beyond the immediate victim to the larger community.
Fear, mistrust, and renewed conflicts in communities can result.
Specific examples of hate crimes, such as a black student stabbing a white student, contribute to community divisions and tensions.

Criminal justice officials and health service providers' negative attitudes and prejudice create secondary victimization for hate crime survivors.
Community members sometimes display more support for the accused than the victim.
Victims often avoid reporting hate crimes due to secondary victimization issues.

Offender motives: thrill-seeking behavior, peer pressure, self-defense (response to victim's actions), ideology/mission-driven behavior (aiming to "rid the world of evil").
Social background factors, including criminal history and antisocial behavior.
Group dynamics contributing to a "group mentality".

Xenophobia-based violence has been recorded globally, targeting foreign nationals in many countries.
A factor contributing to xenophobia is a culture of impunity for violence against foreign nationals.

Cases such as the murder of Nontsikelelo Tyatyeka and Nqobile Khumalo highlight violence against LGBTQ+ individuals.
South Africa's constitution guarantees LGBTQ+ rights but day-to-day reality remains challenging.

Instances of violence against people based on religious affiliation and disabilities are prevalent.
Attacks on religious property (synagogues, temples) pose a serious issue for communities.