While all violent crime puts victims at risk for psychological distress, hate crimes can have particularly severe effects. These crimes victimize not just the individuals targeted, but members of their community at large. They send a message to everyone that this particular group is not welcome in society and that they could be the next target of violence. This can lead to heightened anxiety and feelings of vulnerability among the targeted group, causing members to fear for their safety, which can result in isolation.
Victims of hate crimes often report higher levels of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder than non-victims of other violent crimes. These feelings can be compounded by the fact that a hate crime sends the message that they are not safe in their community, school or workplace.
Hate crime offenses can be motivated by bias based on race, national origin, sex, religion, disability status, or sexual orientation. These offenses can be either violent or property-based. To be a hate crime, the perpetrator must demonstrate bias toward the victim’s identity or group and commit the act with the intent to cause psychological or physical harm.
Researchers have classified hate crime offenders into four categories: thrill-seeking perpetrators who commit crimes for the sake of excitement and power; defensive perpetrators who engage in violence to protect their communities from perceived outsiders; retaliatory perpetrators who commit a crime out of revenge against the victims of previous crimes committed by the same offender; and mission offenders who are driven by ideological hatred for a particular religious or racial cause.
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