Hate Crime
What is a 'hate crime'?
A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.
What is a 'hate incident'?
A hate incident is any incident which doesn't meet the criminal threshold, which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.
How does hate crime affect refugees and people seeking asylum?
Hate crime and incidents can affect whole communities due to their nature of targeting particular aspects of an individual's or group's identity. Hate crime has a greater emotional impact compared to crimes without a hate element, with victims more likely to experience shock, loss of confidence, fear, anxiety and depression. This can lead to behavioural changes, including avoidance and self-isolation.
People seeking asylum or refugees may be more reluctant to report and seek support for hate crime for a number of reasons. These may include past trauma; lack of familiarity with UK law; fear of police or authority or a lack of culturally appropriate services.
Hate is never OK and no one should ever have to 'just put up with it'.
Where can I get support?
What is a 'hate crime'?
A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.
What is a 'hate incident'?
A hate incident is any incident which doesn't meet the criminal threshold, which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.
How does hate crime affect refugees and people seeking asylum?
- Race and religious hate crime are the two categories of hate crime most likely to affect refugees and people seeking asylum
- Race hate crime includes crime motivated by xenophobia (e.g. targeting someone because they are a migrant)
- Race hate crime accounts for 70% of all hate crime (101,906 offences in England and Wales in 2022/23)
- Religious hate crime increased by 9% last year (9,387 offences in England and Wales in 2022/23)
- Wider political, social or global events can trigger an increase in hate crime and hate incidents
Hate crime and incidents can affect whole communities due to their nature of targeting particular aspects of an individual's or group's identity. Hate crime has a greater emotional impact compared to crimes without a hate element, with victims more likely to experience shock, loss of confidence, fear, anxiety and depression. This can lead to behavioural changes, including avoidance and self-isolation.
People seeking asylum or refugees may be more reluctant to report and seek support for hate crime for a number of reasons. These may include past trauma; lack of familiarity with UK law; fear of police or authority or a lack of culturally appropriate services.
Hate is never OK and no one should ever have to 'just put up with it'.
Where can I get support?
- Devon and Cornwall Police: Report hate crime
- Report anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia: Tell MAMA
- Find local support: Cornwall Islamic Community Centre
- Report anti-Jewish hate or anti-Semitism: Community Security Trust
- Find local support: Kehillat Kernow
- Support for race hate crime:
- Black Voices Cornwall
- On Your Side (for East and South East Asian communities)
- Pentreath
- TravellerSpace
- Safer Cornwall