Stopping Hate Crime

Hate crime is a particularly pernicious form of criminal behaviour that has significant impacts upon victims, their families and wider communities. In this substantially revised and updated edition the book examines the nature, extent and harms of hate crime, and the effectiveness of criminal justice responses to it. It covers racist, religiously motivated, homophobic, disablist and transphobic hate crime, as well as other forms of targeted victimisation such as gendered hostility, elder abuse, attacks upon alternative subcultures and violence against sex workers and the homeless. The book also assesses the complexities and controversies surrounding hate crime legislation and policy-making, as well as the continuing challenges associated with the policing of hate. The second edition features expanded discussions of international perspectives and contemporary topics such as online hate and cyberbullying, as well as numerous case studies covering issues such as lone wolf extremists, Islamophobia, asylum seekers and the far right. The book contains a range of links to online material that accompany the extensive lists of further reading in each chapter.

Hate crimes and lesser acts of bigotry and intolerance are seen to be constants in today’s world. Since 1990, the federal government has published annual reports on hate crime incidents in the United States. While the reported numbers are disturbing, even more devastating is the impact of these crimes on individuals, communities, and society. This comprehensive textbook can serve as a stand-alone source for instructors and students who study hate crimes and/or other related acts. It invites the reader to consider relevant social mores and practices as well as criminal justice policies as they relate to hate crimes by presenting this subject within a broad context.

Although victimization of lesbians and gay men is not a new problem, its severity appears to be increasing. After several decades of denial and neglect, the problem of anti-gay violence has begun to receive some measure of societal recognition and response. Not only the lesbian and gay male communit.