Crimes are classified in a few different ways. There are the types of crimes which we often see like theft, robbery, assault, and murder. Then there are hate crimes, which are appended to other charges and carry greater penalties. Such criminal acts motivated by prejudice, also known as hate crimes or bias crimes are illegal act against a person, any institution, or property
that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against the victim’s group or his membership of a particular group to his prejudice. It is typically one commenced by prejudice by race, religion, sexual orientation, or other grounds. They are the violent manifestations of intolerance against a community.
What qualifies a criminal act to be a hate crime specifically swivels upon the factor of motivation: whether the crime motivated by a bias is against the victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected aspects of their identity. Hate crime laws are usually designed in connotation with the actual offense the person is charged with, such as an assault or a murder,
putting greater severity on the crime due to its hateful motivations. For example, it is not illegal to randomly spew racial epithets but if a person intentionally goes far as to punch someone because of his racial biasness, the crime becomes
much more serious in the eyes of the law.
Furthermore, because hate crimes are dependent upon the perpetrator’s intention, the victim doesn’t actually have to be a member of the protected class the perpetrator thought he or she was attacking to be covered under hate crime laws. An attack under a dilemma with respect to a race is still a hate crime. In other words: Being wrong about who to target is not a legal excuse for bigotry.
Although the primary obligation to combat hate crimes lies with national and local authorities, yet there shall be an ombudsman whose action can be decisive in convincing governments to address hate crimes and in guiding their response. Working with governments to improve legislation; monitoring and reporting incidents and acting as a voice for victims of hate crimes and providing them practical assistance such as legal advice, counselling; raising awareness about the hate crimes and the existence of discrimination, intolerance; and Campaigning for action to meet the challenge of hate crimes.
2018-19-Vol4-Issue1-_19
