What are hate incidents?
Hate incidents are defined as ‘any non-crime perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate’.
Some examples of hate incidents include:
- Spoken words with a hate-element that are insulting
- Mocking and humiliating someone because of their identity
- Spreading false rumours about someone based on identity-based stereotypes
What are hate crimes?
A hate crime is defined as ‘any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice’.
Some examples include:
- A physical assault during which someone uses prejudiced (e.g. racist or homophobic) language
- Property damage, such as graffiti that contains a hate-based message or symbol
- Abusive and threatening words stated in a public space that are likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress (also considered as hate speech).