A bias incident or hate incident is an act of hostility motivated by
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, religious intolerance, or other
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
. A bias incident is different from a
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
in that it does not necessarily involve criminal activity. Examples include graffiti, verbal abuse, and distribution of
hate group
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...
literature.
On school campuses
Organizations such as the U.S.
Community Relations Service The Community Relations Service (CRS) is part of the United States Department of Justice. The office is intended to act as a peacemaker "for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender id ...
, the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
, and the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
recommend that school administrators denounce bias incidents on their campuses regardless of whether a crime is committed.
Reasons for having such a policy include preventing minor incidents from escalating into violence and protecting the reputation of the school and its surrounding community.
[ Supporters of such policies say that they help maintain an atmosphere of civility in which people feel free to express themselves without fear of retaliation.
A response to a bias incident begins with the victim or a bystander reporting it to the school's administration. After receiving the report, a school official (often a ]campus police
Campus police or university police in the United States and Canada are sworn police or peace officers employed by a college or university to protect that private property of the campus and surrounding areas and the people who live, work, and v ...
officer) may begin to collect evidence and offer physical and emotional support to the victim. The institution may issue a public statement in order to dispel rumors, calm tensions, and state that bias incidents are not tolerated.[ School leadership may hold an open meeting to discuss the incident. ]Diversity training
Diversity training is any program designed to facilitate positive intergroup interaction, reduce prejudice and discrimination, and generally teach individuals who are different from others how to work together effectively.
Diversity training is o ...
events may be included during orientation programs in an effort to prevent bias incidents from happening in the future.
Law enforcement
Even if there is no crime to prosecute, some jurisdictions encourage their citizens to report bias incidents to the police. Police officers can provide assistance to the victims, and some police departments are required to keep records of reported bias incidents.
See also
* Documenting Hate
Documenting Hate is a project of ProPublica, in collaboration with a number of journalistic, academic, and computing organizations, for systematic tracking of hate crimes and bias incidents. It uses an online form to facilitate reporting of incide ...
References
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Prejudice and discrimination
School and classroom behaviour