Understanding and Tackling Barriers to Reporting Hate Crime: Evidence Review

Executive summary

The Hate Crime Strategy for Scotland sets out the Scottish Government’s key priorities for tackling hate crime and prejudice (Scottish Government, 2023a). The Strategy acknowledges that ‘we understand that some communities face real and perceived barriers to reporting hate crime which often means that hate crimes will go unreported’.

By examining a range of evidence sources, this review identifies and examines five key barriers to reporting hate crime relating to:

1. Lack of awareness – not everyone is aware of what hate crime is and how to report it

2. Perceptions of the police and justice system – some people do not think that the police will take their complaint seriously

3. Perception that the offence is not serious enough or is commonplace – some people may believe that incidents are ‘not serious enough’ to be reported or occur too frequently to report it each time

4. Ongoing impacts of hate crime – for instance, the risk of reprisals from the perpetrator or others learning information about the victim that they don’t wish to be wider knowledge

5. Accessibility and language barriers – reporting options available may not be suited to some communication or accessibility needs to enable people to report

Where relevant, key insights on effective strategies and approaches for tackling each barrier are also discussed. For example, educational workshops and campaigns can support victims and witnesses identify what a hate crime is and where to report it. Specific police training aims to equip officers to address hate crime and serve diverse communities. Victim support such as peer support groups and additional support from police can help victims with the potentially traumatic effects of hate crime. There are also multiple ways to report hate crime which aim to reduce accessibility and language barriers.