What are Hate Crime and Incidents?
A Hate Crime is a criminal offence that is motivated by prejudice, discrimination, and hostility towards an individual’s identity or perceived identity. These can include; disability, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, religion, or any perceived difference. Whereas, a hate incident is any incident in which the victim or third party's belief is based on someone’s prejudice towards them but does not amount to a criminal offence.
Hate crimes include:
- Physical Assault
- Criminal Damage
- Theft
- Sexual Assault
- Burglary
- Hate Mail
- Verbal Abuse
- Displaying or circulating discriminatory literature on posters
Hate Incidents include:
- Verbal or online abuse
- Insults or harassment, such as taunting
- Bullying or excluding others at the University, workplace or in social spaces
- Graffiti
- Hoax calls
- Dumping rubbish outside your accommodation
It’s important to state that the University of Leicester takes all incidents of hate crime and incidents seriously and believes it’s totally unacceptable.
The University of Leicester is committed to protecting freedom of speech within the law. This means students, staff and visitors can share and discuss ideas, even where others may disagree.
However, this does not include behaviour that is unlawful, such as harassment, discrimination or abuse.
If you feel you have experienced this, you can disclose it and be heard through our Report and Support tool
Impact of Hate Crime and Incidents:
The impact of hate crimes and incidents can be detrimental on both an individual and group level.
Impact of Hate Crimes and Incidences
For more information about hate crime, please visit the Leicestershire police advice and information webpage.
For further information about other reporting and support options, please visit the need help pages on our website.