CR5001 Research Methods in Criminology: LGBT Hate Crime Experiences

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report explores hate crimes against the LGBT community.

Student ID number:
Module Title: Research Methods in Criminology
Module Code: CR5001
Level 5
Terms1 & 2
Academic Year 2018/19
Student Name
Topic: In what ways do LGBT people experience hate crime?
Research Proposal
Proposal Title:
Word count (excluding section titles):

Introduction
A hate crime is also known as the bias motivated crime and it takes place when the perpetrator of
the Crime as intentions of choosing the Victim due to some motive behind it. Though an activity
of violence against a person is always termed as a big issue, the hate crimes have higher impact as
the purpose of the crime is to terrorize the whole Society or particular group. In this research the
overview of hate crimes for LGBT society has been carried out. The report also brings the most
suitable reporting methods for law enforcing agencies and provides recommendations for future
and how efforts can be put on hate crimes for LGBT group.
1. Past Researches
In the past there has been researches regarding the experiences of LGBT people and for this the
real gases have been used. The problems of hate crimes have been considered by taking the cases
as per the instances. The research in the past has shown that during their lives, around 20% of the
gay, lesbian and bisexual US citizens have experienced hate violence (Park and Mykhyalyshyn,
2016). Similar researches have been carried out in different areas of the world and there has been
understanding regarding the dynamics of the hate crimes and reactions to them. These researchers
have been focusing on prevention and adequately dealing with such crimes. The past researches
have seat to deal with problems of Social Justice by looking at how the policy decisions at both
the national level and the state level bring inequalities in the life of LGBT. Also there have been
statistics given by various countries and States regarding the police reported hate crime data which
explain the incidences of violence against LGBT community (Baird, 2017). All over the world
violent crimes are carried out against individuals on the basis of their difference and these crimes
have been occurring from ages. There are various newspapers, journals, statistical reports and the
government issued reports which show the number of crimes that take place on the daily basis
against this community. The researchers have also been carried out by policy makers and the
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supporters of human rights and there have been psychological studies around these as well. As
given by Cormack in 1991 the research showed that violence against lesbians and gay men had
been a shocking issue in the key US cities after the World War II. He carried out a survey on the
current violence and had studied the perpetrators by use of details given by the contributors of the
survey along with the reports taken from court records, personal discussions in interviews, media
reports and various other papers. In this research he also suggested social logical explanation for
the truth that adolescent males are likely to face the maximum number of violence against LGBT.
As per the past research late 1970s, Mary McIntosh (1967) gave initial promising article on this
topic recommending that LGBT role had appeared into this world in the 18th century. The key
study was given by Michael Foucault’s three volumes Histoire de la sexualité, in year 1976, 1984
and third one also in the year 1984. In the first volume the social constructionism was explained
and the change of legal idea of sodomy was considered. His work was a great critic of the concept
of sexual liberty and he also displayed the discourses of this liberation from 18th century and how
there were strict controls around this group. Later he showed the theory of power which had a
great role for the innovation of body politics. His later works were regarding the sexual ethics and
when he carried out research on intimate relationship of gay men. These works were on the basis
of the idea of LGBT group and few individuals of this group defend the position while lot of
biologists carrying out the research on the genes, hormonal systems and brain parts of this group
are not aware of this critic. There was a lot of research on how people react towards this
community and with the development of gay and lesbian; there was a specialisation on the
behaviour of others towards this community (Castells, 1983). One more key block in the research
is the absence of representative groups because lot of researches in this topic based on snowball
method (Masten and S/Wright, 2010). The community is not very open and therefore researchers
cannot find such people easily and lot of responses of the survey are dependent on self disclosure
of these people. Therefore various techniques have been created for dealing with this issue like the
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researcher asking straightforward questions, there were different questions asked to get the
responses of this community (Walters and Tumath, 2014).
2. Research design and methodology
The method to be used in this research is the Sample Survey method as it is beneficial for
gathering data and is preferred because of high level of general capacity in representing a huge
population (Sincero, 2019). Since there are huge numbers of people answering the survey
therefore there are better chances of getting relative characteristics of common people included in
the study. This method would also include low cost and would be convenient way of getting data
because the mails will be sent or fax can be sent and online survey Method can also be carried out
so that no participant has to reveal his identity in this survey. It will help in providing precise
results however it has a few drawbacks also because in case of controversial issues like this it
might not give the true picture and all possibilities of inappropriateness of the questions. The
survey is expected to be carried out by contacting the individuals of the NGOs and online method
was used by survey software SurveyMonkey. By the use of this software the elaborative
methodological design can be there youth security protocols and assured accessibility. In the
survey the definition of hate crime would be given as the act of violence against any individual or
property on the basis of the perceived group affiliation of the individual. The perceived group is
LGBT and the hate motivated incidents might not be the criminal activities however these might
precede follow or may be carried out along with the hate crimes therefore a lot of possible bias-
motivated incidents would be covered in this survey. This survey would explain the experience of
the individual with hate crime and would also look at the coping Strategies for trauma recovery
level of the individual.
The other method that will be used will be the research and study on the basis of the past reports
and newspapers and journals along with the daily reports where the hate crimes have been
reported with the police. For this, a particular area has to be chosen so that the focus can be on the
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chosen population. However in this case the chances of accuracy are low because the people in a
smaller area would not have a high population of LGBT people.
3. Chosen research design and methodology and plans for data collection
The preferred style of carrying out survey will be the NGO survey where in the data from the
representatives of NGOs will be taken this sentence would be the people who work with the
victims and along with the risk groups that is with LGBT people. The benefit of carrying out
survey from such people would be that they would have experience in hate crime or they might
know more about this group as they are closely related to the risk group. The result of the survey
will be e compared with the survey done from individuals of hate crime. The two surveys will be
compared later on so that a collective opinion regarding the hate crime law can be made. There
will be large amount of data collected online within Germany. Germany has been chosen for
various reasons because within German law there isn't any perspective of hate crime law like it is
in US or UK. Therefore it is promising to find out the view points and experience on this
particular topic particularly in Germany. Also the research with the bigger perspective would be
there considering the experiences and viewpoints with the hate crime from victims and NGOs.
The third reason would be that the online research will be carried out and there would be no face
to face interaction with people therefore people would be able to provide the details of their
experiences and they might not hesitate in carrying out any discussions. Within this survey, the
following features have to be considered which religion, subgroups, disability, sexual orientation
and technical backgrounds. Since there is a bigger population chosen therefore there are chances
that the LGBT community can respond to this and the survey will consist of newly created
questions, research skills and open ended questions. In the NGO survey, the questions would be
into two areas that is the experience of people for hate crime in daily work and the resources that
are already there for research skills and open ended questions. In the NGO surveys, the questions
would be into two areas that is the experience of people for hate crime in daily work and the
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resources that are already there for helping these helping the group. Also the questions would be
regarding the need and support of safety of the victims of such crimes and how prevention is
possible. The second part would include the questions of the view points on hate crime policy and
the hate crime law in particular area where the individual resides. This objective is to get more
understanding regarding the support that is required by NGOs along with the kind of support
which NGOs believe that victims required. This will also give the perspective of NGOs regarding
the hate crime laws and what changes have to be made. it is significant to know that most of the
people would allocate themselves to different groups which are not LGBT groups therefore there
has to be a large list of choices to be given to people so that they do not get any feeling of
discrimination. Within the hate crime survey the contributors and respondents have to be asked
about the coping Strategies and the way they think victims can be supported. The people who had
already experienced any hate crime incident can also be enquired regarding the physical hurt,
emotional trauma and the strategies which they used to cope up. After carrying out these two
surveys the comparison will be made and for all these, the SurveyMonkey software will be used.
4. Ethical issues raised by this proposal and ways to resolve them
The ethical considerations in the research are important. The ethics are the principles of the norms
for carrying out the research which make a demarcation between what is right and what is wrong.
The ethical issues are significant in this case particularly because lot of people and their
behaviours are related to this research. The dealing and management of such ethical issues has a
huge effect on the integrity of the research project and also can have impact on whether or not the
project is approved. The approach in which this research is carried out will shape the view points
of the community, LGBT group, towards the researcher and the research project, Institution and
also those who are involved in this research. The ethical principles are highly focused on
safeguarding the interest of the research respondents and following the principle of do not harm
(Gilbert, 2008). The key ethical standards which are significant in this survey research are the
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respect for individuals and therefore the autonomy has to be respected along with the dignity of
the respondents. The risk minimization has to be there along with the maximization of the benefits
and assistance to the participants of the research in social, psychological and physiological
manner. The other issue would be fair behaviour as all the participants must be chosen from the
group of individuals for home the research is carried out and would be beneficial. It has to be kept
in mind that there has to pay protection and respect of the values and interest of the LGBT
community and this community should be protected from any kind of harm. The informed consent
has to be there along with the provision of voluntary participation. These principles have to be
followed so that each respondent who is chosen to take part in the survey has his own free will
and is also completely informed about the process of the research and any kinds of potential harm.
This could not be an issue in case the researcher provides of cover letter or introductory statement
for introducing the survey and giving information of the intention, purpose, motivation, data and
ways of collecting data. Within this introduction it is important that the topic of confidentiality is
also covered. This way the potential participants are completely informed before completion of
the survey. The potential respondents should be allowed to decide with respect to participation
and should not be forced in anyway. The ethical principles also safeguard the confidentiality and
anonymity of the participants and this is the key ethical issue in survey research, particularly
in this case because there are certain sensitive questions to be asked. The researcher must not
share any information among the participants and there should be procedure applied for protecting
the names and responses of the respondents.
5. Flow-chart with associated dates for completing the proposed research
The below chart shows the link dates for expected completion of the proposed research plan. This
survey will be fast because it will be carried on online basis. Therefore it is expected that with the
first week of may the respiratory work of problem definition will be done and the survey questions
will be prepared for which the approval will be taken. The survey questions will be set up on the
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SurveyMonkey software and then in the next week the surveys will be carried out as explained
above. The survey data compilation will take maximum time therefore 10 days have been allotted
for the same followed by the benchmarking and market assessment. The survey results will be
evaluated with the understanding of the initial needs of support by the victims as well as NGOs.
Once the data has been compiled and reviewed then the final report will be created and
suggestions will be given on the basis of the research. The search results will also be sent to the
respondents as well as stakeholders of the research so that the fair practice is followed and the
victims as well as NGOs can benefit from the outcomes of the research.
6. The potential non-academic impact of your proposed research
The first part of the result will focus on the victims and their particular requirements for support
and security along with the themes like accessing to the victims and providing help, recording and
monitoring the special requirements of victims in the LGBT community. Also the research can be
used for understanding the behaviour of the offenders. In the second part of the research the hate
crime would be discussed in general and the understanding will be created with respect to the axis
of help to the victims of hate crime in LGBT community. The experiences of people will be
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utilised to understand different barriers like not aware of where to go, disability, shame and
negative reactions by other people will be understood. This report will also provide an insight into
why people do not report search hate crimes. Along with the general issue of access to the hate
crime victims the show of reporting hate crimes come to the authority is and there are various
barriers faced by the hate crime victims of LGBT community because they are not able to speak
or might face shame or would not want to disclose their sexual orientation. This is particularly of
yes when the investigation is with respect to LGBT community because there are lots of hate
crimes that are still not reported in the society. Apart from this there has to be research on the
offenders so that the risk factor of committing hate crimes is analysed and can be prevented. This
research can help in understanding the role of social workers and teachers so that more and more
awareness can be created regarding the problem and its solutions. There is a need of various
intervention programs which might be useful in various parts of the country particularly in the
LGBT community so that the hate crime can be reduced and even eliminated (Kamenschikov,
2018). Also the significance of work being carried out by NGOs for the victims of LGBT
community link hate crime has to be understood. With respect to this issue engineers are not able
to referred paint for required therapist because there is a lack of money with the engineers and
they need to integrate the therapists for supporting the victims in psychological and physical
manner. Also both reports are required who are aware of the special issues and requirements of
the LGBT community because this community might differ extremely from the issues of other
victims.
Conclusion
The data on the victims experiences and the NGOs with respect to hate Crimes faced by the
LGBT community, has given the significant insight regarding how the victimisation has been
perceived and how they deal with such an incident. Moreover interesting would be the correlation
among the physical hurt and psychological trauma with the recovery skill. The higher is the
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correlation, the more effect of victimisation has been seen and therefore it is significant to provide
suitable victim support at various levels. Generally the local support systems and societies are
considered to be the pillars of supporting the victim however in this case the specific group has
been chosen and which is that LGBT group. it can be summarised is important to implement and
encourage education of people, support and counselling services for the victims when there has to
be empowerment training for learning the ways of dealing with hate crime incidents. It is not only
regarding the support of the victims but it is also about the support of the support facilities that is
the NGOs which help those victims. This proposal shows how the research will be carried out and
have the survey will be performed to evaluate the experiences of the LGBT people and support
they need during hate crime.
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References
Baird, A. (2017). Dancing with danger: ethnographic safety, male bravado and gang research in
Colombia. Qualitative Research, 18(3), 342-360.
Comstock, Gary David,. 1991. Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men. New York/Oxford:
Columbia University Press
Castells, Manuel. T he City and the Grassroots, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
Foucault, M., & Gros, F. (1984). Histoire de la sexualité.
Gilbert, N. (2008) Researching Social Life, London, Sage.
Kamenschikov, P. (2018). Judicial Minimum: Hate Crime against LGBT in Russian Court’s Eyes
Book Review: Kondakov A. (2017) Hate Crime against LGBT in Russia. St. Petersburg:
Centre for Independent Social Research. The Monitoring Of Public Opinion Economic&Social
Changes, (6).
Masten, A. S./Wright, M. O. (2010). Resilience over the lifespan. Developmental perspectives on
resistance, recovery, and transformation. In: (Hrsg.). Reich, J. W./Zautra, A. J./Hall, J. S.
(Hrsg.). Handbook of adult resilience. New York: Guilford, 213-237
McIntosh, Mary. (1964). “The homosexual role” (1967), in: Plummer (1981) and Dynes &
Donaldson (1992), pp. 226-236.
Park, H., & Mykhyalyshyn, I. (2016). L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of Hate
Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/16/us/hate-crimes-against-lgbt.html
Sincero, S. (2019). Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys. Retrieved from
https://explorable.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-surveys
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Walters, M., & Tumath, J. (2014). Gender ‘Hostility’, Rape, and the Hate Crime Paradigm. The
Modern Law Review, 77(4), 563-596.
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