The Victim of a Hate Incident
A hate crime is a criminal act against a person or her/his property because of that person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, nationality, disability, gender or sexual orientation.
A hate incident is an act that, while not meeting the legal definition of a crime, involves the same types of behavior and targeting of underrepresented groups. Hate incidents are more common on college campuses than hate crimes.
- Talk to the victimized student in private.
- Recognize that the student is probably experiencing a range of intense feelings, including shame, anger,
fear, and denial.
- Explain the importance of notifying the campus police.
- Refer the student to the Counseling Center (301) 314-7651 for recovery counseling.
- Refer the student to the Office of Student Conduct and the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct
- Downplaying the situation.
- Expressing personal biases.
- Getting caught up in the technicalities or legalities of the situation.