Hate Crimes: Definitions and Introduction
A “hate crime” are “criminal actions intended to harm or intimidate people because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or other minority group status,” as listed in the works of Herek (1989) and Levin and McDevitt (1993). In the 1990s, the issue of hate crimes, or “bias crimes,” has generated rising attention from activists, policy makers, and social analysts. Much of the amplified concern has displayed an inference in that all criminal activities have adverse impacts for the victim, bias crimes must be considered as a unique case owing to their heightened effects on the victim of the crime ...