Hate Crime What To Know 2009 Copy
HATE CRIMES:
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW &
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank members of the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee for their expert feedback and contributions.
Author
A. Renwick, MPA
2009 November
"The AHCC is supported by the
Stollery Community Foundation and Butler Foundation"
2
INDEX
Why this guide?
4
What is a hate or bias incident?
5
What is a hate or bias crime?
5
How do hate or bias crimes and incidents impact me?
6
Who commits hate crimes?
7
Why do they do it?
7
Who are the targets of hate crimes?
8
What kinds might I see/hear?
8
When or where do hate incidents or crimes occur?
8
What are the most common hate crime offences?
8
Can a person be charged with a hate crime?
9
How can I safely intervene in a hate or bias crime situation/incident?
9
The choice is yours as to whether to intervene.
9
How can I help the victim?
10
What do I do after I witness a hate or bias incident
13
Conclusion
13
3
WHY THIS GUIDE?
Canada continues to build upon its foundation as a nation of newcomers. Alberta’s population is becoming increasingly diverse; today more than one-third of Alberta immigrants come from China, the Philippines and India.1 According to the 2006 census,
454,200 Albertans (approximately 14 per cent of the province’s population) belong to a visible minority.2 In recent years, the province has also seen growth in the number of refugees from countries in Africa and Asia. Alberta also has one of Canada’s most rapidly growing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations.
By 2017, Alberta, like the rest of Canada, will see increasing numbers of allophones; persons whose mother tongue is neither English nor French.3 Albertans will witness more visible minorities in their communities and an increasing number of people with diverse religious backgrounds. Along with ethnoracial, language and religious diversity,
Alberta sees an increasingly open and visible gender and sexual identity community, and persons
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW &
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank members of the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee for their expert feedback and contributions.
Author
A. Renwick, MPA
2009 November
"The AHCC is supported by the
Stollery Community Foundation and Butler Foundation"
2
INDEX
Why this guide?
4
What is a hate or bias incident?
5
What is a hate or bias crime?
5
How do hate or bias crimes and incidents impact me?
6
Who commits hate crimes?
7
Why do they do it?
7
Who are the targets of hate crimes?
8
What kinds might I see/hear?
8
When or where do hate incidents or crimes occur?
8
What are the most common hate crime offences?
8
Can a person be charged with a hate crime?
9
How can I safely intervene in a hate or bias crime situation/incident?
9
The choice is yours as to whether to intervene.
9
How can I help the victim?
10
What do I do after I witness a hate or bias incident
13
Conclusion
13
3
WHY THIS GUIDE?
Canada continues to build upon its foundation as a nation of newcomers. Alberta’s population is becoming increasingly diverse; today more than one-third of Alberta immigrants come from China, the Philippines and India.1 According to the 2006 census,
454,200 Albertans (approximately 14 per cent of the province’s population) belong to a visible minority.2 In recent years, the province has also seen growth in the number of refugees from countries in Africa and Asia. Alberta also has one of Canada’s most rapidly growing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations.
By 2017, Alberta, like the rest of Canada, will see increasing numbers of allophones; persons whose mother tongue is neither English nor French.3 Albertans will witness more visible minorities in their communities and an increasing number of people with diverse religious backgrounds. Along with ethnoracial, language and religious diversity,
Alberta sees an increasingly open and visible gender and sexual identity community, and persons