Hate crimes and incidents
Criminal behaviour takes different forms and affects victims in different aspects of their life. When the crime is motivated by hate and prejudice towards specific individuals or groups of individuals, it takes on a whole different perspective.
It is unacceptable that certain people should feel unsafe because of their inherent characteristics. Everyone should be able to feel safe and live their life without fear of being persecuted, ostracized or hindered because of what they are, what they represent or what they believe in.
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, a hate crime is:
“…a criminal violation motivated by hate, based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor.”
Hate crimes are not specific violations under the Criminal Code, but may range from mischief to harassment, to physical assault and even murder.
When deciding on the sentence, the courts take into account the circumstances in which the crime was perpetrated. If the action was directly motivated by a perpetrator's prejudices or hatred, the court may consider those as aggravating factors when deciding on the sentence.
Hate incidents are non-criminal events that cannot be brought to court. By their nature and given the context in which they are committed, they affect the sense of safety of an individual or a group of individuals. The incident is perceived by such individuals as a targeted action, aimed at them because of a characteristic of theirs, such as their skin colour, religion, sex, or sexual orientation, for instance.
For example, insulting a person because of their sexual orientation or asking a person to change sidewalks because of their religion would be hate incidents.
Hate crimes and incidents are devastating for the victims. They represent a serious attack against their identity and human dignity, as well as their self-esteem. Victims live in fear of being stigmatized and of having such events recur. Other possible consequences are:
The fear of having events recur and being the next victim raises fear among members of the target group; given that they are identifiable, they feel vulnerable.
Hate crimes and incidents can also have a harmful impact on other vulnerable groups that are minorities or identify with the target group. That is generally the case when the hate expressed stems from an ideology or a doctrine that targets several groups within the community. Finally, those crimes also affect the overall community by creating divisions in society.
As a resident, you play a key role in the fight against hate crimes and incidents. By denouncing them, you help make our living environment safer for everyone.
There are a few ways to report a hate crime or incident, depending on the level of urgency: