Effects of Hate Crimes on Individuals and the Community - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Effects of Hate Crimes on Individuals and the Community. Department Crimes ofhatred target to harm individuals who belong to certain social groups because of their perceived or actual characteristics. As such they affect not only the individual victims but also their families, friends and significant others. The effects of hate crimes thus are felt by the entire communities and even the country. Hate crimes are more hurting than general crimes as they are aimed at sending messages violent hatred towards the victims and their groups. They are arbitrary in nature and as such extremely difficult to investigate and prosecute considering also that the victims rarely speak out. Individuals suffer psychologically, physically and emotionally. This study will be looking at the effects of hate crimes on both individuals and the community. Introduction. A very unique form of crime that poses challenges not only to the victims and their communities but also law enforcers is the class of crime referred to as hate crimes. These are crimes which are largely informed by hate for other people on the accounts of their perceived or actual racial inclinations, ethnicities, religious affiliations or even sexual orientation. Hate crimes disproportionate implications on communities and the entire society owing to their nature. For instance as much as one may be hurt as a result of hate crime, they may not sometimes be in the position of defending themselves before the eyes of the law especially where physical violence is not meted. It is thus very important to understand the nature of hate crimes, impacts on victims and their communities as well as the challenges that our society may face while addressing the vice. The knowledge of hate crimes is crucial as it will inform future strategies for effective prevention and prosecution of hate crimes (Wagner, 2014). Hate crime can be directed at the individuals, their friends, families or properties and may take very different forms. This type of crime takes different forms all of which are intended at intimidating, embarrassing and annoying victims. Perpetrators may attack their victims physically or verbally for reasons which vary depending on the situation and cause pain. In some cases hate crime can be targeted at victims’ properties and this may take the forms of vandalism and graffiti. A very common form and one that is growing fast is cyber bullying. This occurs on the internet where perpetrators post annoying and stereotypic messages aimed at harming their victims both psychologically and emotionally. Hate crime sometimes also occurs in form of abusive text messages and hateful emails that are targeted to inflicting psychological harm on victims. Other manifestations of hate crime include signs and gestures that are offensive as well as threaten behaviours . Hate crimes impact on every area of the victims’ lives i.e. general welfare in society, work and school lives. In most events victims of hate crime feel guilty, are humiliated and often embarrassed to the extent of not complaining. This results in stress on the part of victims which may manifest through symptoms like low levels of confidence and self image. Escalated levels may even lead to the development of health issues both physically & mentally and may affect not only the individuals but also their immediate families. Individuals and their families may feel vulnerable and isolated from the rest of society. They feel that their rights have been taken away and start even blaming their situation on themselves. This could result into failure to cope in the society and also loss of confidence in the law enforcement agencies such as the policies. It is therefore very important that we understand hate crimes so as to be able to develop effective measures of curbing the problem. Theoretical Background. The united states one of the most diverse countries the world over. As such there are people of different races, nationality origins, cultures and skin colours. This is strength but a same time a ground for vices such as hate crimes. We are also the largest democracy and the most open society where people’s rights are protected in terms of freedom of choice and privacy. The LBGT for instance have rights as humans despite their sexual orientation & identities hence cannot be decimated against. However the diversity and democracy has been abused by uncivil individuals who met crimes of hate against other innocent people just because of their sexual orientation, skin colour, national origins, socio-economic status, racial and ethnic backgrounds. This constitutes what is called hate crime and because of the escalated levels there has been a need to address the issue both legislatively, legally and socially. Hate crime itself is a very complex phenomenon and a number of authors have pointed to the fact differences of culture, social norms, and even political interests have a role to play in determining crime generally and in particular hate crime. Terms such as prejudice, bias and hostility are commonly identified as motivating factors behind the rise of hate crimes in the society. Prejudice particularly is a very wide concept that covers wide human emotions. Hate crimes manifest in the form animosity that is directed at certain social groups. Victims are in most cases just representatives of the groups and are often attacked by strangers. It is thus imperative that an evaluation of the ripple effects of the crime is determined to enable a comprehensive exploration of victimisation. This is to say that in order to understand the impacts of the said crimes on individuals, their families, their social groups and communities as well as the entire nation. Research Questions 1. What are the lived experiences of hate crime victims the United States of America? 2. What are the effects of hate crime on individuals and their communities? 3. What are the challenges that can be encountered when it comes to prosecuting hate crimes? 4. Do hate crimes cause psychological issues that can result into mental health problems. Literature Review. According to (Wagner, 2014) assaults that are motivated by hate are violent and therefore have a higher likelihood of inflicting serious injuries to victims as compared to other assaults. The LBGT community for instance is particularly vulnerable and likely to suffer the effects of hate crimes. A lot of literature points to the fact that a better proportion of these crimes are perpetrated by individuals who in the first place do not know their victims. Furthermore, selection of victims is based on perception and not things they have done or said. The arbitrary nature of hate crimes is profoundly unsettling since the victims have less to so as to change their appearances or even how their individual and group character traits are perceived by other people. The impacts of crimes of hatred on communities are broader as compared to many other forms of crime such as property crimes. This is because these crimes are fuelled by hate for others and thus are calculated to and actually do send a clear message of extremely violent intolerance towards certain individuals and or classes of persons. Just like in incidences of terror attacks, the message element of the perpetrators intention can very threatening and profoundly so cause fear even among persons that are far removed from crime scene. The mere fact hate crime victims are normally selected on the basis of their racial, religious or political identity causes the entire community or social groups with which the individuals identify with to panic. Hate crime thus sends a message of vulnerability and even victimisation to all community members who share similar characteristics as those affected (McDonald and Hogue, 2007). Hate crime therefore affects the community in a manner that is very significant. In fact, the sheer fear of being victimised with violence can just as debilitating as suffering the actual crime of hatred. The message of hatred which is communicated through the acts of hate crime on the other hand has effects that can disrupt social order; it can a result in a situation of mistrust for law enforcing agencies and or cause friction among members of the community on racial, political and religious backgrounds. The arbitrary nature of hate crime also presents a challenge when it comes to investigations and prosecution. In most cases, victims fear coming forward and speaking out or just lack the confidence that law enforcement can pursue offenders and bring them to book. In some cases even the target characteristics of victims such as sexual orientation present another challenge; victims may be reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation for instance. Impediments to the investigation of hate crime may also come in form of culture and language. At the same time, since a crucial element of addressing hate crime is the establishment of motives the society must look far beyond the particular scene gain a great understanding of the crime. Hate crimes go unreported the world over thus limiting the amount of incident information available (Dzelme, 2014). Nevertheless, available information largely depends on the cases that have been reported with police. As such it not only relies on the victims’ willingness to testify but also their give enough information to support the reported hate motive. According to Iganski (2008) hate crime offender deploy force in just a few often incidents. Most incidences involve verbal abuse, general harassment, assault and other criminal activities such as cyber bullying which in majority of the cases go unreported. Available literature and data shows that hatred crimes severely threaten the individuals’ safety both physically and psychologically. Hate crime is in fact markedly different from other crimes since it hurts more as compared to other crimes. A fundamental notion therefore is that crimes of hatred inflict bigger harm on the victims. Literature also suggests that individuals who fall victim to have crimes could end up suffering consequences that extreme in terms of mental health and general well-being. According to the International Stress Foundation, Inc., hate crimes commonly lead to stress and trauma among the victims. Signs include behavioural issues, cognitive & emotional problems as well as physical factors. The American Psychological Association points at two levels of attack; first is the physical individual and second is their identities. Hate crime can bring about symptoms that are common with PSTD such as the feeling of vulnerability, anger, a strong feeling of fear, coping problems that negatively affect interpersonal relationships, physical illnesses, depression and learning difficulties. Fear is could elicit a fight back or total escape from the issue. It is the primary emotional response among individual victims of hate crime and therefore alters their choices in life (Noelle, 2003). The fear also causes physiological problems. Impaired heart rate, changes in body temperature and changes in activity of some glands all accompany emotional stress. When it escalates, fear could also manifest in physical symptoms such as voice loss and quaking of limbs. Furthermore, severe stress can shake an individual’s equilibrium, alter their relationships and break the sense of security. As a result of confronting cruelty, an individual’s sense of justice is inevitably stained, civility is shattered and thus room is created for alien instincts. Many victims have reported lifestyle changes e.g. whom they associate with, how they trust others and how they react when with strangers. The victims do not only suffer the direct crime experiences but also secondary victimisation in form of biases and blames. A factor that contributes to the low reporting of hate crimes is fear of unfair or negative treatment by the same people supposed to offer help (Rabrenovic, 2007). Hypothesis. 1. Hate crimes are more severely hurting on both the individuals and communities than other general crimes. 2. Hate crimes could cause emotional, physical and psychological problems among victims. 3. Hate as a crime is an independent variable, emotional psychological and physical health issues are dependent variables while motives such as bias and prejudice are the intervening variables. Research Methodology. To conceptualise my hypothesis I will be using a cross-sequential research design in which I will perform a survey among students to understand their take on the entire topic. This method is advantageous in the sense that it allows the research to be carried out on different groups and also avails information in a shorter period of time. Another advantage of the research methodology is that it allows selection of subjects to represent the entire population. This confers ecological validity on the findings of the research as the sample perfectly represents the population of interest. My method of data collection will be involving the use of formal standardised questionnaires. This is because I will looking to analyse my data statistically and quantify the hypotheses. My questionnaires will therefore follow standard working and question order so as to ensure subjects receive a similar stimuli. There will also be definitions and explanation for all questions guarantee consistency in the manner interviewers handle the questions and answers received. A prescribed format for responding will also be made available to interviewees to speed up completion of the entire process of filling the questionnaires. Following data collection, the row facts will then be subjected to statistical analyses so as to obtain the required information and answer the research questions as well as test the hypotheses. Statistical tools such as ANOVA, standard deviation and regression analysis will be used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses. Theoretical and Applied Significance/Contributions of the Study. Hate crime is a reality in our society as a result of presence of prejudices and biases that are based on political, racial, sexual, religious and ethnic differences. However, there is limited information on this crime in terms of the motives, effects on individuals and the community, the forms it takes as well as legal implications. My study will therefore contribute to the available literature by providing new information on the vice that will add to the existing knowledge of hate crimes. The study will help in advancing on available knowledge of the topic as it will be carried out on a school population which is a very good home for diversity and therefore ground for different forms of hate crimes. This will enable validity of the information gathered and the fact that the same information will be subjected to statistical tools of analysis guarantees accuracy. The studies practical significance is that the knowledge obtained will help the society in conceptualising hate crime. Law enforcement agencies for instance require such information to devise effective strategies for preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. Learning institutions require the knowledge for teaching purposes while psychologists may need the knowledge to devise intervention strategies for assisting victims recover and lead better lives. There is no doubt therefore that the society requires this information References. 1. American Psychological Association. (1997). Hate Crimes: Causes, Consequences and Current Policy: What Does Social Research Tell Us? Retrieved on April 23, 2015 from http://www.apa.org/404-error.aspx?url=http://www.apa.org/ppo/issues/pflyer.html 2. Benjamin B. Wagner. (2014). Civil Rights Prosecutions: Hate Crimes. United States Department of Justice. Available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/priority-areas/civil-rights/hate-crimes / 3. Dzelme Inta. (2014). Hate Crime- Individual Experience and Impact on Community. Latvian Centre for Human Rights. Available at: http://cilvektiesibas.org.lv/media/attachments/30/01/2012/Naida_noziegums_ENG_cietusajiem_Internetam.pdf 4. Glen Kercher., Claire Nolasco and Ling Wu. (2008). Hate Crimes.Sam Houston State University. Available at: http://www.crimevictimsinstitute.org/documents/Hate%20Crimes%20Final.pdf 5. Iganski, P. (2008). Hate Crime and the City. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press. 6. James B. Jacobs and Kimberly Potter. (1998). Hate Crimes: Criminal Law & Identity Politics. Oxford University Press. 7. McDonald, S. & Hogue, A. (2007). An Exploration of the Needs of Victims of Hate Crimes. Ottawa, Ont.: Department of Justice Canada 8. Noelle, M. (2003). The Psychological Effects of Hate-Crime Victimization. University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA: http://proquest.umi.com/ 9. Perry, B. (Ed.) (2003). Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader. New York: Routledge 10. Rabrenovic, G. (2007).When Hate Comes to Town: Community Response to Violence Against Immigrants. American Behavioural Scientist 51(2): 349-360. Read More