ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates that the concept of hate crime is more complex and multi-layered than many might imagine. The emergence of hate crime policy and associated interventions has taken shape in the context of a growing body of empirical research demonstrating the multiple layers of harm associated with hate crimes. The work of Canadian criminologist Barbara Perry has been especially influential upon contemporary interpretations of hate crime. Intersectionality is dynamic central to the process of hate crime victimisation which is often overlooked by scholars and policy-makers alike. Equally important is the interplay between hate crime victimisation and socio-economic status. The problems posed by hate crime - and the corresponding challenges for scholars, policy-makers and practitioners- are all the more sizable in the context of prevailing economic, political and social conditions.
