The ‘All Wales Hate Crime Research Project’ has been funded by the Big Lottery for three years. The research will be carried out by Race Equality First in partnership with Cardiff University and Cardiff and the Vale Equality and Human Rights Network.
The Association of Chief Police Officers defines a hate crime as “any hate incident, which constitutes a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate”. Hate crime devastates lives, targeting individuals at the level of their personal identity, but reporting levels are amongst the lowest for all crimes.
Sources indicate that hate crime is a growing problem in Wales. Race Equality First’s ‘Race Hate Crime Survey’ (2009) found that 59% of black, minority ethnic respondents in Cardiff had experienced a race hate crime in 2008/9. Stonewall Cymru’s ‘Counted Out Survey’ (2003) found that 1 in 3 gay, lesbian and bisexual people had been victim to homophobic violence or bullying. In January 2010, the BBC Wales documentary ‘Why do you hate me?’ drew attention to the issue of hate crime committed against disabled people.
Dr Matthew Williams, Principal Investigator, said “This is a unique project in terms of its scope and size and will for the first time produce robust data on the extent, nature and experience of hate crime in Wales across all equality strands”.
The project aims to support organisations in Wales to develop evidence-based policy and practice to combat hate crime and provide support for victims. It will produce data on true levels of incidents, reporting and underreporting, as well as other key information such as the profile of perpetrators and hate crime “hotspots.”
Mohammed Tufail OBE, Director of Race Equality First, said “I am delighted that this research has been funded as this can enable all partner agencies to help to improve the quality of life for those who live, work in, or visit Wales”.