Hate Crimes

The world is getting smaller and social mobility causes the encountering of people of different origins. As the diversity in the society increases, for some people it is difficult to develop tolerance towards people who are somehow different. As the borders between the countries become less definite, identity borders in peoples’ minds become more prominent1. As a result of globalization and the development in the communication technology, caricatures published in a Danish newspaper create enormous negative reactions and hate speeches in many Islamic Countries2. This is referred to as “cyberhate”. In fact the Internet causes the hate movement to multiply. Electronic means such as blogs, news groups, social networks enable to disseminate views and bring people of same opinion together. Thus a collective identity is easily created and in time this leads to a “global racist subculture”3. Characteristic of a hate crime is that it involves a violation of human rights and is contrary to fundamental social values that all human beings are equals.It is very difficult to define hate crimes but several attempts have been made: for example OSCE (The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) of the UN (United Nations) describes hate crimes as, “Crimes motivated by intolerance towards certain groups in society” OR “any criminal offence, including offences against persons or property, where the victim, premises or target of the offence are selected because of their real or perceived connection, attachment, affiliation, support or membership with a group. A group may be based upon their real or perceived race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or other similar factor”4. Hate crime is any incident committed against a person or property, which is motivated by the offender’s hatred of people who are seen as being different. This difference could originate from a person’s race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation5. Hate crimes are criminal acts committed with a bias motive. It is this motive that makes hate crimes different from other crimes. A hate crime is not one particular offence. It could be an act of intimidation, threats, property damage, assault, murder or any other criminal offence. The term “hate crime” or “bias crime” therefore describes a type of crime, rather than a specific offence within a penal code. A person may commit a hate crime in a country where there is no specific criminal sanction on account of bias or prejudice. The term describes a concept, rather than a legal definition6.