By Carina Hoerst<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two weeks ago was National Hate Crime Awareness Week<\/a>. What started in 1999 as a reaction to attacks on the Black and LGBT community has become a big event and takes place every year since. Today, it seems to be more important than ever. The UK is currently witnessing an increased level of hate crimes. According to most sources, it has doubled since 2013<\/a>. Within this increase, it seems as if specific news events trigger spikes<\/a> of sudden increases in hate crimes. Awareness is an important first step, yet we need to go further and understand the processes behind this pattern, allowing us to combat hate crimes more efficiently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, what do we mean when\nwe speak of \u201chate crimes\u201d in this context? The legal definition says that any\nattack, perceived by the victim as based on prejudice against race or ethnicity,\nreligion or beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity is\ndefined\nas hate-motivated<\/a>. In order to counteract those attacks, we need to know what\nmakes them most likely to happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the 23rd<\/sup> of June\n2016, the UK held the referendum on whether to leave or remain in the European\nUnion. The unexpected result to leave was followed by an immediate rise in hate-related\nattacks by\n57%<\/a>. Since then, subsequent peaks were recorded by the Metropolitan Police.\nFor example, there was a spike in June 2017 which seemed to be linked\nto the London Bridge attack<\/a>. How can we explain these patterns?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The media reported that racists\ngot \u201cemboldened\u201d<\/a> by the referendum result. During the referendum, Brexit was\npresented by some as being against\n\u201cforeigners\u201d and \u201cforeign\u201d control<\/a>. We think that after the Brexit\nreferendum, a minority of xenophobes amongst the population perceived<\/em> the\nnation as backing their ideology and actions, similar to what\nhappened after the 2016 US elections<\/a>. With the referendum result, they now\nsaw the majority as sharing their values and identity, which led to the\nperception of support for their actions. Xenophobes\nbecame empowered<\/a> to conduct attacks on people that were seen as\n\u201cnon-British\u201d and \u201cnon-White\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, hate and xenophobia\nlevels not only seem to remain high, but further peaks occurred. Nationalist\nrhetoric<\/a> of those that represent the country, published\npolls<\/a> forecasting voting behaviour, hate\nposts on social\nmedia<\/a>, as well as the actions of hate-groups\non the internet<\/a> seem to foster, if not trigger, this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prejudice and hate crimes are not\nrestricted to exist \u201csomewhere else\u201d but can likewise exist on our doorstep. The\nUniversity of Sussex is known for its liberal and welcoming environment and a\npolicy that strongly supports respect and diversity. Nevertheless, it is a\nplace where people from over 100\nnations<\/a> with different cultures and religions come together, and campus is\nnot an exception to other places; here, as much as elsewhere, there are people\nholding xenophobic attitudes<\/a>. Students that become a victim of hate crimes deriving\nfrom those attitudes can suffer from psychological consequences which can be as\nsevere as physical ones. Hate affects people\u2019s well-being<\/a> which can not only lead to strong emotional responses but\nalso to a decrease in academic performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to understand hate crimes\nbetter. We need to understand their pattern, what triggers them, and why they decline\nas well as rise. In my PhD research, in order to understand how xenophobic\nattacks increased, I will be drawing upon models of empowerment – the dynamic\nprocess by which power relations change. Perceived power or efficacy can lead\nto the legitimization of a movement<\/a>, and\npeople\u00b4s idea of \u201cwhat\nis right\u201d can influence their behaviour<\/a>. I will apply this framework to\nexamine the empowerment of xenophobic white identities, focusing on those who view\nthemselves as victims of the establishment and immigration policies.\nFurthermore, by comparing spikes in hate crimes, I will examine patterns that\nemerge, for example in regard to the target group and the circumstances that might\nhave encouraged offenders to conduct hate-motivated attacks. This knowledge\nwill not only further the understanding of the processes behind hate but also\ncontribute to tackling it \u2013 from parliament to campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a student affected by any kind of hate-motivated attacks, the University of Sussex institutions are there to help<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Carina is a PhD student under the supervision of Professor John Drury. She is researching the spikes in hate crime since the Brexit Referendum. This post was originally published on the <\/em>Crowds and Identities Blog<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out more about our research on Social and Applied Psychology<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Carina Hoerst Two weeks ago was National Hate Crime Awareness Week. What started in 1999 as a reaction to attacks on the Black and LGBT community has become a big event and takes place every year since. Today, it…<\/span><\/p>\n