Hate crime and prejudice-based behaviours: Diversity and intersectionality
The protected characteristics from the Equality Act 2010 are:
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disability
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age
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race
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religion and belief
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sex
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gender reassignment
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pregnancy and maternity
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sexual orientation
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marriage and civil partnership
The non-protected characteristics that are most relevant in the context of Scottish education are protected under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.
Some people will belong to or identify with more than one protected group. For some, a combination of characteristics will mean they experience hatred and prejudice in a specific way. This is referred to as intersectionality. Intersectionality can significantly impact how people experience hatred and prejudice.
To find out more about intersectionality, the thee minute video What is intersectionality? (youtube.com) describes what we mean by intersectionality.
For a young person focused view you could also consider Intersectionality 101 (youtube.com).
It is important to consider intersectionality when supporting someone who has experienced a prejudice-based behaviour or hate crime, or when witnessing one taking place. A person can be targeted due to more than one of their characteristics, for example a young person from an ethnic minority group or a disabled person who also identifies as LGBT+ could be said to have intersecting characteristics.
Hate crime can also feel different for those who visibly belong to protected groups. For example, a young woman of colour from a Muslim background may hesitate to wear a hijab due to fear of being targeted by hate crime.
While these are more than the characteristics that come under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, when developing our understanding of prejudice-based behaviours and hate crime we need to reflect on the intersectional nature of our identities.
It is possible for a hate crime to be motivated by more than one characteristic but also the impact of experiencing a hate crime will differ depending on the intersectional identity of the person targeted. While other characteristics might be influencing the motivation for a hate crime, such as sex or class, for a hate crime to be committed, hate crime protected characteristics must be involved. These are shared in the next slides.
