Hate Crimes
What is a hate crime?
A HATE CRIME, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin. There were 1,260 hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias reported to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1998. Colleges and universities are required by federal law to report bias-motivated crimes.
What is a Bias-Motivated Incident?
A BIAS-MOTIVATED INCIDENT, also known as a hate incident, is an act of conduct, speech, or expression to which a bias-motive is evident as a contributing factor (regardless of whether the act is criminal). While there are no legally-mandated reporting requirements for bias-motivated incidents, they are known to occur on a daily basis and are largely under-reported.
All hate crimes are bias-motivated incidents, but not all bias-motivated incidents are crimes. Both hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents occur on college campuses and negatively affect the ability of gay, lesbian, and bisexual students to meet their educational goals in a safe and welcoming environment.
Why reporting is important?
1. Students are entitled to know about campus safety.
2. Hate crimes must be identifiable and recorded to comply with legal reporting requirements.
3. Before steps can be taken to prevent and respond to incidents that are motivated by sexual orientation bias, you must be able to identify the nature of incidents that are occurring.
4. For students to feel supported and safe, they must know that campus authorities are attentive to all reports of bias-motivated incidents.
Victim Support
Colorado Anti-Violence Project provides direct client services including crisis intervention, information, and referrals for LGBT victims of violence 24 hours a day. We can also help arrange emergency needs such as food, transportation, and emergency shelter for victims of violence, court accompaniment, system advocacy, and short and long term case management. We also maintain a list of therapists, service agencies, and attorneys who have experience with LGBT people and issues. Contact Colorado Anti-Violence Project Tollfree: 1-888-557-4441