‘Some men deeply hate women, and express that hatred freely’: Examining victims’ experiences and perceptions of gendered hate crime

Abstract

Extensive debate about the place of gender within the hate-crime policy domain has been fuelled by national victimisation surveys indicating people’s experiences of ‘gender hate crime’ coupled with Nottinghamshire Police’s decision to begin categorising misogynistic street harassment as a form of hate crime. Drawing on the results of an online survey of 85 respondents, this article explores people’s experiences of gender-related victimisation as ‘hate crimes’. The analysis demonstrates how participants relate their experiences to the concept of hate crime, their perceptions on punishment and reporting to the police, and also wider impacts on their recovery processes. This paper provides a timely contribution towards current debates around using the existing hate-crime model for addressing crimes motivated by gender hostility.

Swedish Women’s Experiences of Misogynistic Hate Crimes: The Impact of Victimization on Fear of Crime

“…Women with experiences of misogynistic hate crime are, on the other hand, significantly more likely to have been subjected to sexual harassment with a medium effect size. This result is in line with previous research showing that misogynistic crimes often include threats of sexual violence or consist of various forms of sexual harassment (Mason-Bish & Duggan, 2019).…”

“…Sexual offenses were very common, and the victims often drew the conclusion that the incident was misogynistic since the offenders used derogatory sexual epithets. Like previous studies, Mason-Bish & Duggan (2019) also found an interplay between sexual orientation and gender, as well as a heightened risk for those with transgender or androgynous appearance. The study also indicates that age is a risk factor, as participants described a reduction in victimization frequency as they aged.…”

“…The issue of including sex or gender as categories in hate crime legislation has been controversial, largely due to a lack of knowledge about misogynistic hate crime. Only one previous study has focused on the victims’ experiences (Mason-Bish & Duggan, 2019). The results show that sexual offences are common and that there is a heightened risk among young women and among those with an androgynous or transgender identity.…”

“…Drawing on the data from a mixed method study of Swedish university students, the overall aim of this study is to fill a knowledge gap regarding victimization patterns, the victims’ fear of crime, and the message effect of misogynistic hate crime. The study provides more in-depth knowledge about victimization among the risk groups identified by Mason-Bish & Duggan (2019), since this study includes both cis- and trans women at a sensitive stage of life characterized by high victimization rates. The study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the question of whether the impact on victims is in line with research on hate crime based on other motives, that is, whether the impact is more pronounced by comparison with non-bias crime and whether there is a message effect.…”

“…Her observation remains true today. To the author’s knowledge, only one study, conducted by Mason-Bish & Duggan (2019), has examined victims’ experiences of misogynistic hate crime. The study consists of a survey with open-ended questions regarding the 85 participants’ interpretation of hatred motivated by gender hostility.…”