The project SIVIVO researches hate crime, which has become a growing problem due to its increasing prevalence, its serious effects on health and the impact on healthcare services.
Currently, there are no systems of healthcare information to gauge the size of the phenomenon and facilitate the victims’ needs. In this context, SIVIVO was conceived to quantify and typify incidents of hate crime, and also describe the features of the injuries caused and the care required.
The authors of the project are Maria Ángeles Rodríguez Arenas, Christian Gil-Borrelli, Lola Martín Ríos, the SIVIVO research group, the National School of Healthcare – ISCIII, the University Hospital La Paz and the Spanish Society of Humanitarian Medicine (SEMHU), and has been financed by Strategic Action in Healthcare 2013.
The SIVIVO Project defines hate crime as the deliberate use of physical force or power against a person or a group of persons, which causes or may cause injury, death, psychological damage, development disorders or impairments, whether immediately or in the long term, when the victim is selected because of his / her connection or belonging, whether real or supposed, to a group or community which shares a characteristic such as origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, poverty, illness, incapacity or other similar factors.
SIVIVO has carried out a study of cases of aggression gathered consecutively among those attended in the emergency room of Hospital Universitari La Paz in Madrid between 2015 and 2016, using a questionnaire drawn up ad hoc for the survey which gathers socio demographic information to focus on the damage and the related incident:
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Of the 100 first cases studied, over half had suffered a hate crime. This is a very important figure, as only those aggressions resulting in injury were taken into account.
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Women suffer more aggressions due to hate crime rather than other causes(excluding gender-based violence).
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Representation of the population with a foreign background among people assaulted due to hate crime is very high (50% of cases).
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Aggressions because of hate crime mainly occur in the street, although not as frequently as aggressive behavior due to other factors. The victim’s home, bars and restaurants are also common venues.
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Among women, hate crime in the home is the most frequent context for such violence, whereas bars and restaurants are more common for such aggression involving men.
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A third of assaults are carried out by people known to the victim.
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The main reasons for hate crime detected are: physique of the victim –especially in the case of men–, sex –in the case of women– and nationality.
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A large percentage of those assaulted due to hate crime manifest their intention to report the incident. However, police and judicial records may suggest a lack of action in this respect.
LINKS OF INTEREST
- The blog of the SIVIVO
- Twitter of the SIVIVO
- Lluitem contra l’odi i la discriminació. T’escoltem
- Post Practical manual for the detection and indictment of crimes involving hatred and discrimination
- Post The European project Prism analyses the expression of hatred on the social network
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