We believe any form of hate is never okay and are committed to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and is free from inequality. Our campuses, accommodation and surrounding areas should be a safe space to work, study and socialise in for every member of our UoB community.
Hate crime and Hate incidents are terms used to describe acts of hostility, prejudice or violence directed at people because of who they are or who someone thinks they are.
What is a hate crime?
Hate crime = criminal offence + hate element
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：
- disability or perceived disability
- race or perceived race
- religion or perceived religion
- sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation
- transgender or perceived transgender identity
In short, a hate crime is any action that is currently considered as a criminal offence under UK law that has a hate element.
What is a hate element?
The hate element can take the form of:
- Hostility: ill-will, ill-feeling, spite, prejudice, unfriendliness, antagonism, resentment, and dislike.
- Prejudice: a baseless and often negative preconception or attitude towards members of a group.
Forms of hate crime
As mentioned above, as any criminal offence with a hate element is a hate crime, it can take place anywhere and in any form. Below are some examples of the types of crimes that could potentially involve a hate element:
- Assaults
- Criminal damage
- Harassment
- Murder
- Sexual assault
- Theft
- Burglary
- Hate mail
Inciting hatred
Hate crime can also be in the form of incitement of hatred.
This occurs when the person does not directly conduct hateful actions or speech against the victim, but they act in a way that is threatening and intends to stir up hatred. This could be through words, pictures, videos, music, and includes information posted on websites.
Specific examples of incitement of hatred include:
- Social media posts that call for violence against a specific person or group
- Web pages that show pictures, videos or descriptions of violence against anyone due to their perceived differences
- Chat forums where people ask other people to commit hate crimes against a specific person or group
Under the current legislation, it is a criminal offence to incite hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation. However, if you are aware of incitement of hatred on any other grounds, it can still reported as a hate crime.
What is a Hate incident?
Hate incident = an action that is not a criminal offence + hate element
A hate incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their:
- disability or perceived disability
- race or perceived race
- religion or perceived religion
- sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation or
- transgender or perceived transgender identity
In short, in a hate incident, the actions involved in the incident is not currently a criminal offence under the UK law.
It is important to note you can be a victim of a hate crime or incident even if you do not identify as a member of the group the hostility or prejudice is based upon.
If you have been subjected to any form of hate, then you can find out what support and further reporting options are available dependant upon if you are a member of staff or student at the University.