Mental Impact Of hate Crimes On Affected Persons Research 2022

Running head: MENTAL IMPACT OF HATE CRIME ON AFFECTED PERSONS
Mental Impact of Hate Crime on Affected Persons
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

MENTAL IMPACT OF HATE CRIMES ON AFFECTED PERSONS1
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................2
1.1. Background Overview: Hate Crime in the USA...............................................................2
1.2. Problem Statement............................................................................................................3
1.3. Research Aims and Objectives.........................................................................................3
1.4. Research Question.............................................................................................................3
1.5. Research Hypothesis.........................................................................................................4
2. Review of Literature.................................................................................................................4
2.1. Gaps in the Review of Literature......................................................................................6
3. Research Methods....................................................................................................................6
3.1. Research Philosophy and Research Design......................................................................6
3.2. Data Collection.................................................................................................................7
3.3. Data Analysis....................................................................................................................7
3.4. Sampling Technique.........................................................................................................7
3.5. Sample Size.......................................................................................................................7
3.6. Ethical Factors...................................................................................................................7
3.7. Limitations........................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

MENTAL IMPACT OF HATE CRIMES ON AFFECTED PERSONS2
1. Introduction
Hate crime is a term that is used to describe a crime that typically involves the use of
violence and which is motivated by prejudice or bias, on the basis of religion, race, sexual
orientation and various other grounds (Blosnich et al., 2016). Hate crime is typically seen to
occur when the perpetrator targets the victim owing to the latter’s membership of a particular
racial or social group (Close et al., 2018). Hate crime as the name suggests is a crime that is
motivated by strong feelings of hate and resentment. Examples of hate crime involve incidents of
physical assault, harassment, bullying, damage to property, verbal insults or abuse, the use of
offensive graffiti in public spaces, mate crime and hate mail (Heald et al., 2018). This
assignment prepares a research proposal that seeks to examine the mental impact of hate crime
on the affected persons in the USA. The proposal includes a detailed outline of the research aims
and objectives, the key research questions, a review of literature on the subject, the gaps in the
review of literature and a brief description of the methods that will be used to conduct the study,
as also the ethical factors that will be taken into consideration when doing this research.
1.1. Background Overview: Hate Crime in the USA
Hate crime is on the rise in the USA and members of ethnic minority groups are often
targets of physical and mental abuse and sometimes sexual abuse as well. Hate crimes in the
USA are usually perpetrated by people who are regarded to be white supremacists and who
cannot tolerate the fact that black Americans or people of color have the right to a dignified
existence (Close et al., 2018). There is no justification for engaging in hate crimes, or in any

MENTAL IMPACT OF HATE CRIMES ON AFFECTED PERSONS3
crime for that matter, and the fact that hate crime is on the rise in the USA goes to show that
American society is growing increasingly intolerant with every passing day. Hate crimes when
carried against a person are in often seen to leave the victim in a state of shock. Apart from
feeling petrified, the victim of a hate crime also goes through a lot of trauma, a situation that
such a person may find difficult to recover from, unless exposed to a lot of counseling, and
healing therapy that may help to bring the person back to mainstream living once again
(Blosnich et al., 2016).
1.2. Problem Statement
Existing literature on the subject of hate crime talks about the various dimensions of hate
crime, and the factors that can propel an individual to commit a hate crime. Literature on hate
crime also states that it leaves the person who it is perpetrated against, in a state of shock (Olsen,
2018). However, there isn’t much evidence or information that points to the exact mental impact
that hate crimes are seen to have on the black Africans in particular, both short term and long
term. This project will address the gap in the literature by attempting to understand the exact
mental impact of hate crimes on black Americans.
1.3. Research Aims and Objectives
The specific objectives and aims of this study are as follows –
 To determine the different types of impact that hate crimes can have on victims
 To determine the mental impact that hate crimes can induce in black Africans
 To uncover the ways and means by which victims of hate crime such as black Africans
can be assisted in order for them to recover from the trauma and mental despair that they
are subjected to as a consequence of the crime.