Hate Crimes Abstract The author of this thesis discusses the issue of hate crimes according to the Act No. 40/2009 Coll., The Criminal Code, as amended, and related case law. The thesis is divided into several parts. The first part is devoted to the definition of hate crime and related terms such as extremism, prejudice, race, anti-Semitism, nationalism and xenophobia. These concepts are important for the following interpretation and for the understanding of the existence of special protection in the context of hate crimes. The second part is devoted to the international regulation of hate crimes. Emphasis is places on the analysis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The third and fundamental part of this master thesis analyzes hate crimes in the Czech Republic in the context of settled and current case law. In addition, examples of statements fulfilling the facts of individual crimes from practice are given. The fourth part analyzes the basic issues of hate speech and hate crimes in the United States legislation and case law. It also includes comparison of individual approaches with ideas of possible inspiration. The fifth part is devoted to reflections de lege ferenda on the topic, especially with regard to different concepts in the Czech Republic and the United States. The last part...

This thesis examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racist and xenophobic hate crimes. I argue that perceived threat and strain generated by the pandemic trigger negative emotions such as fear, frustration and anger. These negative emotions are directed to the group that is blamed in public discourse for the cause and/or spread of the Coronavirus. As a result, I argue that these hostile attitudes are expressed through racist and xenophobic hate crimes. Drawing on this proposed causal mechanism, the hypothesis the COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in the number of racist and xenophobic hate crimes is developed. The hypothesis is tested by examining a period of 11 months before and 11 months during the pandemic by conducting an Interrupted Time Series Analysis (ITSA). The results show that the hate crime trend changed from a small decreasing trend before the pandemic to a less decreasing trend during the pandemic, yet the results are not significant. Thus, the results do not support the hypothesis. Concerns regarding the sample selection and theoretical limitations are expressedand open up avenues for future research.

The study explored experiences of hate, hate crimes and microaggressions among diverse Asian adults living in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic for a sample (N = 831) that was 26.7% Chinese, 13.6% Japanese, 13.4% Korean, 12.4% Taiwanese, 10.6 % Filipino, 10.3% Indian, 8.5% Thai, 54.9% female, and 86.8% U.S. born—with a mean age of 33. Findings showed participants had: better overall physical health before COVID-19 pandemic versus currently; mental/emotional health declined from before the pandemic to currently; moderate social support; closest to moderate past-year mental distress; closest to “more than once” for experiences of microaggressions; a high level of ability for perceiving racism and oppression; and were in the action stage for coping and responding to racism and oppression. Also, 79% (N = 831) personally experienced hate once to a great number of times, and 43.5% (N = 362) endorsed moderate to very high impact; 79.2% (N = 664) witnessed hate against someone else once to a great number of times, and, 44.5% (N = 370) endorsed moderate to very high impact. Those who received counseling in the past experienced more microaggressions than those who did not seek counseling. The higher the frequency of experiencing microaggressions then higher the age, darker the skin color, lower the self-rating of mental health pre-COVID-19, lower the self-rating of physical health pre-COVID-19, lower the self-rating of mental health during COVID-19, higher the past year depression, anxiety and trauma and overall mental distress, greater the feeling of being unable to control important things in life, higher the ability to perceive racism and oppression, higher the stage of change for coping and responding to racism and oppression, greater the impact of hate, and lower the social desirability. Backward stepwise regression showed significant predictors of a higher frequency of experiences of microaggressions were being born in the U.S, not being a student, past year counseling, older age, lower education, higher overall mental distress, and higher ability to perceive racism and oppression—with 77.4% of variance explained by the model. Implications of findings and recommendations are provided for addressing anti-Asian hate.

Background: Veiled Muslim women are particularly vulnerable to hate crime vic-timization. This is both due to the visibility of the veil and to Islamophobic stereo-types. Islamophobic hate crimes target a central part of these women’s identity and have the potential to affect both actual and potential victims in a multitude of ways. However, research on this particular group is limited, especially in Sweden. Aim: The aim was to explore how Islamophobic hate crimes are experienced by veiled Muslim women in Malmö. Method: Eight veiled Muslim women were re-cruited through Muslim associations in Malmö and interviewed through focus group interviews and individual interviews. Three of the women wrote diaries about their experiences. The interview data was analysed through thematic analy-sis. Results: Four themes were identified in the analysis: a) Islamophobia is a part of veiled Muslim women’s everyday lives and is experienced both in public places and in formal settings, b) experiences of Islamophobia restrict the women’s lives, both through limiting their behaviours and through creating geographical boundaries in the city, c) awareness of Islamophobic hate crime against other Muslim women induces a feeling of “if it can happen to her, it can happen to me too”, finally, d) international and political issues increase Islamophobia toward these women. Discussion: Islamophobia permeates the lives of veiled Muslim women across a multitude of arenas. Due to fear of victimization, Islamophobia and hate crimes threaten Muslim women’s liberty in their day-to-day lives. Thus, there is a need for authorities across a variety of domains to be aware of these women’s vulnerable position in society and work towards providing the support veiled Muslim women need.

This thesis investigates the impact of traditional societal norms on LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Armenia. Grounded in anthropological and human rights theories, it employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews and secondary sources such as human rights reports and academic literature. The research reveals that deeply entrenched societal norms and institutional barriers significantly contribute to the prevalence of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals. Findings indicate that while LGBTQ+ organizations provide essential support and advocacy, their efforts are often hindered by legal and societal challenges. This study concludes that comprehensive legal reforms and increased societal awareness are crucial for improving the safety and rights of LGBTQ+ individuals in Armenia.

In an ideal world, all hate crimes would be correctly identified by police authorities. However, this is not always the case. Rather, some hate crimes are not identified by the police, and some non-hate crimes are identified as potential hate motivated crimes. Previous research has focused primarily on reporting of hate crimes, the perception of reported cases and clearance. However, not much has been done in terms of understanding police officer’s identification of these cases. This thesis investigates the accuracy and factors influencing officers identifying bias motivated crimes. By using data of identified potential hate crimes identified by police officers among reported crimes and identified hate crimes by the Swedish council for crime prevention (BRÅ) this thesis generated an analysis of factors influencing identification of both bias and non-bias crime. Furthermore, an estimation of police officer’s accuracy in identifying hate crimes has been calculated. Results suggest that hate crimes are more likely to be identified if they are fitting a more stereotypical hate crime profile and if they are perceived as more ideal cases. Furthermore, among all identified hate crimes, the ones that are falsely identified as hate crime are often perceived as more ideal cases. In addition, cases with more stereotypical characteristics seems to be more often identified as a hate crime. This do suggest that some ideal characteristics are highly influential in identification. Among identified cases, around half of the cases had a true bias motive, indicating that accuracy of identification in biased motivated cases is around fifty percent.

This thesis assesses three United States Supreme Court opinions, engaging in an inductive approach to generic criticism, in an attempt to discover whether or not there are similarities and/or differences in these decisions. This study focuses on draft card, flag, and cross burning cases argued before the Court in order to discover the potential genre's characteristics.

The reported number of hate crimes in New Jersey continues to remain high despite the enforcement of laws against perpetrators. The purpose of this correlational panel study was to test Shaw & McKay's theory of social disorganization by examining the relationship between demographic diversity and hate crime rates. This study focused on analyzing the relationship between the level of diversity, residential mobility, unemployment, family disruption, proximity to urban areas, and population density in all 21 New Jersey counties and hate crime rates. The existing data of Federal Bureau of Investigations' hate crime rates and the U.S. Census Bureau's demographic diversity, operationalized as the percentage of Whites over all other races, and social disorganization from 21 between the years 2007 through 2011, for a total sample size of 105 cases of reported hate crimes. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicate that ethnic diversity did not significantly predict hate crimes (p = 0.81), residential mobility (p < 0.001), and population density (p < 0.001) had positive effects on hate crime rates. Concentrated disadvantage (p = 0.01), characterized by the number of reported unemployment rates, had a negative effect on hate crime rates. The results of the study supported social disorganization theory in reference to residential mobility and population density. Law enforcement agencies can use the results of this study to combat hate crimes in areas with a high level of residential mobility and population density.

The purpose of this study was to examine group perpetrated antigay violence. Specifically, the effects of MGRS, peer dynamics, and increases in negative affect on antigay aggression were examined. The differential utility of aggression toward gay and heterosexual targets in relieving a state of negative affect (e.g., anger, fear) was also evaluated. Participants completed questionnaires that included a measure of MGRS, and then were assigned to one of three group conditions(individual, stranger, and friend). Participants then viewed a video depicting male-male intimacy and competed in the TAP against either a fictitious gay or heterosexual opponent. Results showed a main effect for condition, such that higher levels of aggression were observed in the group, relative to the individual, conditions. Analyses also revealed a significant positive relation between MGRS and aggression among participants competing with a stranger against a heterosexual opponent. Neither condition nor opponent differentially predicted changes in negative affect.

The purpose of this study was to examine group perpetrated antigay violence. Specifically, the effects of MGRS, peer dynamics, and increases in negative affect on antigay aggression were examined. The differential utility of aggression toward gay and heterosexual targets in relieving a state of negative affect (e.g., anger, fear) was also evaluated. Participants completed questionnaires that included a measure of MGRS, and then were assigned to one of three group conditions(individual, stranger, and friend). Participants then viewed a video depicting male-male intimacy and competed in the TAP against either a fictitious gay or heterosexual opponent. Results showed a main effect for condition, such that higher levels of aggression were observed in the group, relative to the individual, conditions. Analyses also revealed a significant positive relation between MGRS and aggression among participants competing with a stranger against a heterosexual opponent. Neither condition nor opponent differentially predicted changes in negative affect.