Hate crimes may be directed toward individuals because of their sex, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, physical appearance, or nationality.
What Constitutes a Hate Crime?
While the word “hate” is often used to describe rage, anger, or general dislike, in the legal sense, hate refers to the bias against people or groups of people with specific characteristics that are defined by law.
Motivation
While it’s difficult to understand why anyone would commit a hate crime, extensive research has gone into trying to better understand the motivation behind hate crimes. Studies conducted by the FBI found four main motives for hate crimes:
Hate Crime Laws
Hate crime laws are intended to deter bias-motivated crimes. They enhance penalties associated with crimes. They also help protect victims and those around them. If an assault is determined to be a hate crime, for example, the perpetrator may face harsher legal consequences than if it were just an assault that didn’t involve a hate crime. Many countries, including the United States, have hate crime laws. Many individual states have adopted their own hate crime laws.
Statistics
Hate crimes are divided into three main categories: crimes against persons, crimes against property, and crimes against society. Crimes against persons include crimes that involve a victim or multiple victims, such as an assault. These may also be directed toward organizations, such as a financial or religious institution. Crimes against property may include things like vandalism or arson. And crimes against society which may include things like weapon law violations or animal cruelty. Each year the FBI releases national hate crime statistics, but the latest report is from 2020.
Single-Bias Crimes
There were 8,052 single-bias incidents reported in the United States in 2020. Here’s a breakdown of those crimes:
5,227 were motivated by a race/ethnicity/ancestry bias1,244 were prompted by religious bias1,110 resulted from sexual-orientation bias75 were motivated by gender-identity bias130 were prompted by disability bias266 were motivated by gender bias
Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry Bias Crimes
In 2020, law enforcement reported 5,227 single-bias hate crime offenses were motivated by race/ethnicity/ancestry. Here’s a breakdown of those crimes:
2,871 were motivated by anti-Black or African American bias869 stemmed from anti-White bias517 were classified as anti-Hispanic or Latinx bias279 resulted from anti-Asian bias211 were a result of bias against groups of individuals consisting of more than one race (anti-multiple races, group)96 were motivated by anti-American Indian or Alaska Native bias71 were classified as anti-Arab bias298 were the result of an anti-Other Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry bias
Religious Bias Crimes
Law enforcement reported 1,244 hate crimes motivated by religious bias in 2020. Here’s a breakdown of those crimes:
683 were anti-Jewish110 were anti-Islamic (Muslim)73 were anti-Catholic40 were anti-multiple religions, group50 were anti-Other Christian89 were anti-Sikh30 were anti-Protestant43 were anti-Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Other)7 were anti-Mormon11 were anti-Hindu9 were anti-Jehovah’s Witness15 were anti-Buddhist
Sexual-Orientation Bias
In 2020, law enforcement agencies reported 1,110 hate crime offenses based on sexual-orientation bias. Of these offenses:
673 were classified as anti-gay (male) bias306 were prompted by an anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (mixed group) bias103 were classified as anti-lesbian bias17 were classified as anti-bisexual bias11 were the result of an anti-heterosexual bias
Gender Identity Bias Crimes
Of the single-bias incidents, law enforcement reported 266 offenses were a result of gender identity bias. Of these offenses:
213 were anti-transgender53 were anti-gender non-conforming
Disability Bias
There were 130 reported hate crime offenses committed based on disability bias. Here’s the breakdown of those crimes:
77 offenses were classified as anti-mental disability53 offenses were reported as anti-physical disability
Gender Bias
There were 75 offenses of gender bias reported in 2020. Of these:
50 were anti-female25 were anti-male
Preventing Hate Crimes
According to the FBI’s 2020 hate crime statistics, just over 4% of hate incidents occurred at schools or colleges. Strong partnerships with anti-bullying campaigns may prevent hate crimes. Of course, not all bullying constitutes a hate crime, but addressing bullying behaviors early on may be a good step in preventing hate crimes later in life. Increasing public awareness can also help. When community members understand what’s going on and how they can help other groups who may be targeted, they can become allies. Law enforcement presence and partnerships can also help. It’s likely that many hate crimes go unreported. Support from law enforcement may encourage people to report crimes when they witness them or experience them.
