A report said that Christians were being marginalized by equality and diversity laws that left them the first to be punished and the last to be protected. It highlighted a number of cases where Christians had been violently attacked in 'faith hate' assaults.
Source: Marginalising Christians: Instances of Christians being sidelined in modern Britain, Christian Institute
Links: Report | Christian Institute press release
Date: 2009-Dec
The government published an action plan on hate crime, including new measures to support victims of hate crime, bring more perpetrators to justice, and increase reporting of the crimes concerned.
Source: Hate Crime: The Cross-Government Action Plan, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Action plan | Equality impact assessment | ACPO press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Sep
A new book examined key conceptual and operational issues surrounding hate crime. It considered whether hate crimes were motivated exclusively by hate; whether they were intended as 'message' crimes, designed to intimidate fellow members of the victim's minority group; and which types of people were responsible for committing hate crimes.
Source: Neil Chakraborti and Jon Garland, Hate Crime: Impact, causes and responses, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: Summary | Leicester University press release
Date: 2009-Jul
People in Northern Ireland with a disability reported experiencing a wide range of forms of hate crime, including verbal abuse, assaults, and damage to property.
Source: Agnieszka Martynowicz and Mary-Katherine Rallings, People with Disabilities: A baseline study of experiences in Northern Ireland, Institute for Conflict Research (028 9074 2682)
Links: Report | NIE press release
Date: 2009-Jul
A report examined the perceptions and experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people towards homophobic hate crime and policing in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland police service had made substantial progress in gaining the co-operation of the LGB community: but there were still high levels of homophobic hate crime throughout Northern Ireland, and low levels of reporting.
Source: John O'Doherty, Perceptions and Experiences of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People Towards Homophobic Hate Crime and Policing in Northern Ireland, Rainbow Project (028 9031 9030)
Links: Report | Rainbow press release | NIPB press release
Date: 2009-Jun
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill to extend hate crime laws to cover disabled people and those from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual communities.
Source: Patrick Harvie MSP, Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill, TSO, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283) | Scottish Parliament Official Report, Debate 3 June 2009, columns 18098-18126, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | MSP debate | SG press release | SAMH press release | Capability Scotland press release
Date: 2009-Jun