What Psychological Approaches are Effective at Hate Crime - Essay Example

What psychological approaches if any are effective at tackling hate crime? S [Pick the It was a cold fateful October night; Matthew Sheppardwas lured from the bar. His skull was pistol whipped to the extent that his brain stems were crushed; he was left to die in the freezing cold, found almost eighteen hours later. He was rushed to hospital, where he laid in coma for several days and slipped to his death on October 12. At his funeral, protesters carried signs saying “, "God Hates Fags" and “Fags Deserve to Die". Matthew is one of the many thousand who was a victim of a hateful violence known as Hate Crime (Gumbel, 2013). Introduction Although crime in every sense is wrong, it is particularly detrimental if it originates or is motivated by hatred of a certain trait of a victim such as his race, gender, faith, identity, sexual orientation or anything that is corrosive (Featherstone, 2012). The primary reason for this appears to be the fact that the trait for which a person is hated is beyond the control of that particular individual or group and therefore, there is no possible way to escape the hatred that is being endured by such groups or individuals (Perry et al, 2009). Human societies are under continuous evolution and as human population continues to grow, the incidence of unfavorable happenings also continues to rise (Sarkin-Hughes, 2001). The fact that an extreme level of diversity exists among humans, form the basis of differences that ultimately transform into hatred (Basu, 2010). Due to rapid globalization, the demographics of the various areas of the world are rapidly changing and it is therefore common for local residents of a region to compete for resources with newly arriving foreigners originating from other parts of the world. Besides this competition, other factors like political interests or religious differences also contribute to enhancing hatred among different groups of an area, which ultimately translates into occurrence of crimes (Gerstenfeld, 2013; Krohn et al, 2009). Among the various types of crimes, hate crimes hold a special position due to the fact that violence or anger in this case is motivated by ethnic, linguistic, nationality, racial, color, sexual orientation or other prejudices. The basic difference between hate crimes and regular crimes relates to the motive of crime (Barak et al, 2010). Also referred to as bias-motivated delinquency, the violence inflicted upon a victim in this type of crime is often due to a perpetrators perception of belonging to a social, religious or other group, that has conflicting views or beliefs in comparison to those of the victim’s (Renzetti & Edleson, 2008). Hate crimes may range from mild forms like hate mails, insults or graffiti to more offensive forms like assault, harassment, property destruction or damage and bullying. This essay aims to highlight the issue of hate crime and its detrimental effects on individuals as well as on societal level. The essay revolves around identification of various types of hate crimes that affect individuals in religious, sexual, racial or physical terms. The essay also takes in account the various approaches and practices that have been adopted for the prevention of hate crime. Apart from prevention, the prospect of treating hate crime will also be taken into consideration. Keeping in view the history of hate crimes and the prevailing statistics related to hate crime, it can be said with certainty that the incidence of hate delinquency is on rise (Brown et al, 2013; Green et al, 1998). It is therefore important that appropriate measures be taken on immediate basis to ensure that this evil of the society does not increase beyond this level as it is already adding to the aggression that exists amongst different communities. Although considered a minor crime in the immediate prospect, hate crimes can possibly become the cause of much large unrest, violence and retaliation if it is left unchecked; ultimately leading to larger social or political implications (Green et al, 2001). Body The nature of hate crimes is unique keeping in view the fact that the consequences of such crimes are not limited to only a few targeted individuals, but are felt in a larger social context by a large number of individuals (Stotzer, 2007). In addition to the difference of motive discussed above, the other difference is the level of effect that this type of crime has on the society; in this case the crime not only targets the victim, but also targets the community to which the victim belongs (Iganski, 2001; Miller, 2001). Therefore, the intention behind hate crime is not simply to affect the victim; instead hate crimes are considered to be a means of communicating the message that the likes of victim are not welcome in a certain area or neighborhood, community or environment. For this reason, this crime not only victimizes a particular individual, but also conveys an overall bigger message to the whole community; a message of hatred and a gesture of being disliked (Herek, 1999). Racial Hate Crimes Perhaps the most common and widely prevailing among the hate crimes is the racial hate crime. The color of skin, country of origin or the language that is spoken by a certain group can all become a cause of hatred. The primary target of hatred in this type of crime is the race of an individual and the reason for its wide prevalence relates to its non-physical nature of harm to the victims in most cases. The trauma that results therefore is largely of the mental or emotional type and can have far reaching consequences on the lives of victims. A large number of groups have emerged with the passage of time that are proponents of racial hate and are therefore involved in committing such crimes against certain vulnerable targets like the blacks or other racial ethnicities. Neo-nazis or the so called Ku Klux klan are very ignobly reputed in this regard (Blee, 1996; Duffy, 2003). Such groups relate the cause of this hatred to the competition that they have to face in terms of job availability and other facilities, which according to them have become obsolete due to the existence of such minorities that are often the victims of racial hate crimes (Levin & McDevitt, 1993). In the United States for example, Hispanics, African Americans, Arab Americans and the Asian Americans are the most vulnerable groups who are often forced to endure racial crimes by the local population (Perry, 2001; Rubenstein, 2003). The nature of racial hate crimes may range from minor emotional assaults to physical injury or even murder in severe cases; the consequences of leaving such crimes unchecked can therefore have detrimental effects on the society in the long run (Altschiller, 2005). Homophobic Hate Crimes Sexual preferences or orientation is also a major cause of hate crimes. Since the vast majority of individuals in any population are heterosexuals; it is very common for them to view the homosexuals or transsexuals as being criminals due to their sexual tendencies (Carroll, 2010). Since some countries of the world have bestowed such individuals the right to spend their lives according to their sexual tendencies, the common heterosexual population finds it difficult to accept them in accordance to the laws and therefore attempts to find ways to punish such individuals according to their own beliefs and understanding (Dick et al, 2009). For this group of individuals, the conditions have been continuously aggravating and hatred against them is a very common phenomenon; so much so that certain studies have noted an increase in hatred towards the lesbians, bisexuals or gays in online communities as well (Doward, 2013). The criminal justice systems of many countries have admitted their failure in providing the required amount of protection that is desired by individuals that have such sexual orientations. The reason for this is the fact that most individuals who face such crimes do not report such incidents to the law authorities, largely due to the fact that they are willing to avoid victimization which in their opinion is more likely if their sexual orientation is revealed before authorities (Clarke, 2010). The idea of targeting such individuals based on teachings of religions is also the driving factor in some cases of homophobic hate crimes; this is mostly seen in settings where a community is more influenced by religious teachings that do not accommodate such sexual practices based on moral grounds (Siker, 2007; Chin, 2004). Religious Hate Crimes The fact that the world has transformed into a global village, has resulted in bringing people of different religions to locations where a mix of people with varied religious identities reside. Since religion is a sensitive subject for nearly all individuals, the notion of attacking someone merely due to their religious differences is absurd and it should be discouraged by all means (Kelly, 1998). Although, nearly every religion teaches the importance of humanity; hatred for other religious groups is sought by criminals in the form of religious differences and by declaring others at fault. An example would be the July 4, 2012 attack on Kansas Mosque in which the assailant threw an ignited object on the mosque resulting in a fire that spread across the roof; the fire was however extinguished by the fire department before the building was damaged (Telegraph, 2012). But this chain of events did not stop here; the building was attacked again on August 6, just one month after the initial fire. The building of Islamic center was destroyed this time due to the uncontrolled fire that spread across the building. From this incident It is evident that hatred forces such individuals to stick to their lethal plans to inflict damage to the victims, no matter what the consequences (Grim and Finke, 2010). Media’s role in this regard cannot be overstressed, which plays a major role in shaping the understanding of common people regarding a particular sect or belief. Twisting the realities of other religions and using them to gain political or social benefits has become a norm in the world of media; this has therefore resulted in an unprecedented increase in the rate of religion related hate crimes throughout the world (Jacobs and Henry, 1995). Sectarian Hate Crimes Sectarian clashes between different groups are common in communities where a mixture of different sect reside. This type of hate crime can be considered an extension of the hate crime related to religion, since this crime is deeply influenced by religious differences. The act of killing people belonging to a particular sect of a religion is carried out the express hatred of that sect in a given area. In some regions of the world, this has taken the shape of targeted killing in which a person is shot dead from a distance only because his looks resemble the looks of a particular sect. Killing based on names that are common in a particular sect is another form of this crime. Various incidents have been reported in which the members of a group were taken out of a bus while travelling and shot-dead by haters based on their identities as portrayed by their identity cards or passports. Another gruesome aspect is the killing of opponent’s key figures or leaders to express hatred (Hitchens, 2012). Although this type of hate crime has its roots in hatred, the prospect of using this crime as a tool to infuriate opposite sects against each other by a third party cannot be overlooked. Under such circumstances, the result of sectarian killing can have drastic effects not only on individuals, but on the society as a whole. Wars ranging from mild to severe magnitude have resulted in the past as a direct consequence of sectarian killing (Makdisi, 2000). Disability Hate Crimes Disability hate crime is currently the most under reported and therefore the least documented form of crime that arises due to hatred. By definition, disability hate crime refers to a prejudice or hatred motivated offense that is directed against a person who has a disability. Since most of the disabled are often ridiculed on regular basis, the act of committing this crime is often considered a normal aspect, not only by the haters but also by the disabled themselves. It is for this reason, that reporting of disability hate crimes is far lower than other crimes of hatred. Individuals with learning difficulties are in most cases harassed or bullied by others around them (Sherry, 2012). Many of the disabled individuals are attacked physically or frightened merely due to the fact that they are unable to react in a normal way. Their disability makes them extremely vulnerable to such attacks, and for this reason they start to develop tolerance against such behaviors and therefore fail to seek assistance, which is essential to allow reporting of this crime to the authorities (Sherry, 1999). Well known consequences of such crimes include depression, anger, phobias, aggravating physical and medical conditions etc. Disability hate crimes can have detrimental long term effects that may manifest in psychological form rendering the individual incapable of fulfilling responsibilities of daily life (Waxman, 1991). Psychological theories One of the main theories that has successfully explained the notion of hate crime at a macro level is Merton’s strain theory (Aseltine et al, 2000). Merton is of the idea that every culture assigns certain goals to individual that grow up in that society. At the same time, the culture is also responsible for providing the opportunities and resources that are essential to attain the previously defined goals (Agnew, 1997). These resources may be in the form of education, individual capabilities or income. Strain is produced when there is a mismatch between the goals and resources. Merton asserts that whenever disequilibrium exists between the assigned goals and the provided resources, individuals tend to deviate from normal healthy patterns of behavior and adopt delinquent tendencies to meet their culturally defined goals; since the culture demands such goals in such a forceful way that refusal is almost impossible. Merton relates this disequilibrium to capitalism and argues that since individual success is dependent upon material gains in the capitalistic society, the individuals are forced to inflict offensive crimes on others to obtain material benefits which render them successful in the capitalistic society. Ray and Smith (2002) have pointed out the fact that many racist offenders report a sense of being victimized by the Asians who according to them were getting preferential treatment; which therefore was a hindrance for their own success in a society which has set certain goals for them. Perry (2001) has argued that not all forms of hate crimes are explainable on the basis of Merton’s theory. He goes on to declare hate crimes as an extreme form of discrimination which is the result of marginalization of people due to cultural segregation. Social hierarchies related to race, sexuality, gender and class are contrasted on the basis of the ‘differences’ that exist between them. Since ‘difference’ is the basis of segregation into different groups, people tend to see similarities among their group members and at the same time they become reluctant to accept others with different characteristics. Intervention on Hate crime 1. How to raise awareness The fact that hate crimes are debilitating not only for the individuals but also for the community as a whole, makes is necessary that awareness of this aspect of life be spread among masses. Information regarding hate crimes and their causes should be provided to learners at the school level. Bullying is a very common crime at the school level, and it is often observed that physically weaker students are often targeted by a group of children who are physically stronger. The training of reporting such actions should be provided to students at this stage, in order to make it possible for them to understand the importance of reporting when they grow up and become useful citizens of the society (Franklin, 1998). Apart from using education as a tool to enhance awareness, the use of media including television and newspaper may also serve this purpose since these are the most commonly used form of media in the society. The media should play a role in informing the public about their basic rights and also guide them about the support services that are already available to the victims of hate crime. Information regarding the laws that relate to hate crimes should be made available to everyone; this will empower the individuals regarding protection of hate crimes. Moreover, since internet and the rapidly spreading social media is taking a form parallel to the other forms of media, this channel should also be explored to make enhance the understanding of public regarding the issue of hate crime (Sullaway, 2004). 2. Identify and tackle repeated victimization Although much efforts have been made to improve the prospect of identifying hate crimes; the issue is still largely dependent upon victim’s reporting and it is for this reason that various type of grave hate crimes are under reported to the extent of being negligible. Identification is therefore a function of the knowledge of a victim regarding a hate crime; to improve identification of hate crime the victims has to be educated about hate crimes. Another important aspect is the education of masses regarding hate crimes; if public in general is well aware of the concept of hate crimes; the level of reporting can be enhanced. Doing this will ensure that individuals who continue to suffer due to lack of reporting by themselves, get reported by a third-party who is otherwise not a part of the crime. This can however raise other issues like false reporting to avenge an opponent etc (Boeckmann & Turpin‐Petrosino, 2002) Regarding repeated victimization, it can be asserted with confidence that if a strictly punitive approach is adapted by the law enforcement agencies against criminals of this nature, the likelihood of victimization on repeated basis may be minimized. Lack of fear of punishment is a major factor that leads towards repeated victimization of individuals and in some cases with gradually increasing severity in the magnitude of criminal offence. In addition to the above measures, the victims should be advised to avoid repeated exposure to situations in which they are vulnerable to the haters as exposure is the main factor that allows a criminal to proceed with his crime. 3. Community engagement Historically speaking, hate crimes have been existent since the known human history; although motives have been non-uniform over time. Although a variety of laws have been developed and implemented on global level, the world is yet to see a hate-crime free society. Although, it is generally accepted that control of hate crimes is the domain of law enforcement agencies of a country, the role of community in this regard cannot be overlooked. The reason for this is the fact that the presence of community is more widespread as compared to that of law enforcement. Therefore, if community is trained appropriately about the various aspects of hate crime, it is highly likely that it will contribute to the prevention of hate crime automatically (Bowen et al, 2004). It appears appropriate that community engagement is sought by arranging frequent meetings of the members of the community with members of the law enforcement agencies. Properly planned teaching sessions at the local community centers should be arranged to allow delivery of hate crime related information to community people. Information about hate crimes may be incorporated into sermons that are delivered on weekly basis to people of certain religions (Innes, 2006). The members of the community should be encouraged to report incidents of hate crime to the concerned authorities to allow them to respond accordingly. They should be assured that the information relayed by them is kept confidential under all circumstances; this will encourage reporting. In addition to these measures, it is essential that multiple channels of communication with the community be developed and sustained to ensure effective delivery of information from lower to a higher level. 4. Effective case management and reporting It is essential that cases of hate crime are dealt with extreme care, to understand the underlying motive of every case. For this reason, it is essential that a multi-agency approach is adopted right from the start of every criminal case. Experts from different departments who specialize on the various aspects of crime should be consulted to provide the right direction to the investigative process (Berk et al, 1992). Since hate crimes often involve two totally different parties with opposing background, views and interests, it is essential that the person managing such cases be well aware of the background of such parties. An insight into the mentality of such groups should be taken into consideration to decide between the right and the wrong. Religious and cultural differences are major factors that can affect the outcomes of hate related criminal cases. As far as reporting is concerned, it is essential to facilitate the community about reporting such incidents. A multi-lingual telephone service, to facilitate speakers of different languages should be made available, to make it possible for everyone to react actively to ongoing hate crimes (Korostelina & Stern, 2000). Moreover, reporting facility should be made available 24/7, to allow more incidents to get reported. Also important to realize is the fact that the use of modern technology, like the CCTV cameras can serve as invaluable tools to acquire first-hand information regarding occurrence of hate crimes at the main locations of a city. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that hate crimes are complex phenomena that can be attributed to a number of psychological, social, religious, political and cultural factors. Since the world is rapidly turning into a conglomerate mixture of various identities, people are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with this challenge. As far as the psychological aspect of the matter is concerned, no single theory is capable of explaining the process completely and with a higher level of certainty. The reason for this may be the fact that hate crimes are complex in nature and their root cause is not simple enough to allow psychologists find a unified basis of the problem.   The notion of strain being the cause of increase in the rate of hate crime appears to be clearly justified keeping in view the fact that a lot of working opportunities from developed countries are outsourced to the people of third-world countries who are therefore regarded as people who contribute towards the strain of population in the developed countries; hence the hatred. The same is true in cases where immigrants from foreign lands are invited to settle in the developed countries to fulfill their requirements of human resources. The locals feel strained due to the situation and ultimately develop hatred for the competing population which is manifested in the form of racial hate crimes.   Although Merton’s theory successfully explains racial hate crimes by associating them to the mismatch that exists between society- defined goals and availability of resources, the same theory may not be applied in a successful manner to other hate crimes in the list. Crimes like religious hate crimes, sectarian hate crimes, homophobic hate crimes and disability hate crime appear to be related to a totally different phenomenon from the one explained by Merton. In these crimes, the basic motive appears to be the difference that exists between the perpetrators and the victims, in one form or the other. Perry’s assertion regarding ‘difference’, as being the root cause of such crimes appears more credible than the other theories of similar nature. Since segregation of groups in modern society is largely based on ‘differences’ instead of ‘similarities’; individuals are tuned to accept individuals who are similar to their own selves, but are reluctant and in extreme cases resistant to the idea of accepting different individuals as being part of their society. This concept can easily explain crimes like sectarian, religious, disability and homophobic hate crimes by associating the motive of these crimes to the notion of ‘lack of acceptability of differences’ which appears logically relevant and true.   It can therefore be recommended that controlling hate crimes in the immediate perspective may demand strict legislation and implementation of punitive measures. Long term control and reduction of hate crimes can however be achieved by providing appropriate education to increase the tolerance level of masses regarding the differences that exist between people. 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