ABSTRACT
This chapter examines four issues of particular salience to hate crime victimization, policy and practice: Definition—how is hate crime defined, prevalence—how is hate crime measured, what are the trends, under-reporting—why victims under-report hate crime and the efficacy of measures to encourage victims to report; and efficacy of support services—how effective are services for hate crime victims. Examples and research will be drawn primarily from the US and the UK where the development of hate crime policy and practice are most developed, supplementing this with evidence from other jurisdictions. Hate crime comes in two forms, direct and derivative. Online hate crimes/incidents are a developing phenomenon, and there is growing concern about social media platforms acting as a method of victimisation. Support services for hate crime victims have a dual role: supporting individuals, building their confidence to report hate crimes to the police and/other official body; and providing the emotional and practical support to cope with the aftermath of the incident(s).
