 Hate Crime
Dave(GayYorkRegion.com)
6Nov2008 11:34
EST |
| Next week, I will be participating in a York Regional Police conference, covering the topic of homophobic hate crimes in the region. (Gay York Region is also a member of an ongoing York Regional Police Hate Crime Community Working Group).
A hate crime is a criminal occurrence committed against any person or property, which is motivated by hate, bias or prejudice based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor.
Hate crime includes hate propaganda, which means any written, verbal or electronic material that advocates or promotes genocide against any identifiable groups or makes statements that are likely to promote hate against any identifiable group because of colour, race religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.
In Canada, hate crime including hate propaganda is illegal, the latter being covered by sections 318-320 of the Criminal Code.
Last year, in York Region, a total of 74 occurrences of hate crime were reported, compared to 56 in the previous year. But, the number of hate crimes committed was much higher as the vast majority are never reported. That is particularly true for homophobic hate crimes where victims are even more reluctant to report incidents, not only through a reluctance to involve the police, but also through fear of exposing their sexuality.
Notably, homophobic hate crime claims victims of all sexualities. Often straight people are incorrectly rumoured to be gay and subjected to homophobic hate. They too are reluctant to report these crimes as they fear it might cause even more people to question their sexuality.
Another reason that many hate crimes go unreported is that whilst victims recognize hatred, they don't always realize when a criminal offence has been committed. For example, in November 2007, outside a Keswick home, a plastic skeleton painted black hung from a noose on a flagpole flying a Confederate flag. Police found this after receiving a single complaint, but far more people who saw this display probably viewed it as distasteful without ever realizing they were witnessing a criminal offence. (Often people assume our own laws mirror those of the USA, but this is not the case.) The extent to which hate crime is illegal here in Canada is demonstarted by the fact that the person responsible for this crime in Keswick was recently sentenced to a 45 day jail sentence, as well as 12 months probation.
Although York Region is one of Canada's safest and most inclusive communities, both Gay York Region and York Regional Police are committed to doing everything possible to combat prejudice and hatred.
But, we need your help!
In order to address this problem effectively, we need to know about ALL types of homophobic hate situations that are occurring but aren't otherwise being reported. So, if you have been a victim of any type of homophobic prejudice, bullying or hatred, even if you would prefer not to report it to the police, please inform us of the details. You can do so by using the 'Contact Us' link at the bottom of the screen and all information that you provide will be treated as confidential.
Alternatively, if you have any views or comments that you would like to share, please feel free to add them to this topic. |
|