Abstract

Although the rapid diffusion of hate crime legislation since the 1980s indicates widespread success of the antiviolence movement at the policy level, effective responses to hate crimes – such as reporting incidents to authorities – are partly contingent on how individuals initially interpret potential incidents. This paper investigates the degree to which individuals’ perceptions of concrete events of harassment and violence mirror the interpretive frameworks offered by proponents of hate crime legislation. Specifically, the study examines the determinants of definitions of hate crime and perceptions of seriousness, focusing on both incident-level and respondent-level variables. Using data from a multilevel factorial survey gathered from a sample of undergraduates, I find a general alignment between the political construction of hate crimes and college student perceptions of incidents of harassment and violence, although sensitivity to hate crimes varies by witness demographic and attitudinal characteristic.

Article Outline

1. Framing hate crime

1.1. Designating hate crime

1.2. Justifying the distinction

2. From social movement framing to individual perceptions

3. Data and method

3.1. Factorial vignette methodology

3.2. Vignette dimensions

3.3. Vignette creation and outcome specification

3.4. Respondent characteristics and sample

4. Multi-level random intercept models

5. Results

5.1. Hate crime ratings

5.1.1. Victim and offender status

5.1.2. Offender bias

5.1.3. Victim actions

5.1.4. Level of violence

5.1.5. Respondent characteristics

5.2. Seriousness ratings

5.2.1. Victim and offender status

5.2.2. Offender bias

5.2.3. Victim actions

5.2.4. Level of violence

5.2.5. Respondent characteristics

6. Discussion and conclusion

Acknowledgements

References