A hate crime is any type of crime committed with a motivation of bias against a member of a specific group because of their involvement (actual or perceived) in that group. This prejudice can be based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, ability, sexual orientation or membership of an alternative sub-culture. Essentially, a hate crime is targeting people because of who they are or who they are perceived to be. When this occurs in rural, remote or regional locations, the drivers, experiences and consequences can be unique compared to urban contexts.

Research on hate crime has traditionally adopted an urban-centric focus, neglecting victimization which is impacted by place. Further concealing the victimization of rural minorities is the idea of the rural idyll, often romanticizing rural and remote communities as crime-free, rendering the hostile and violent processes which underpin hate-based offending invisible (see Chakraborti and Garland, 2004). The burgeoning field of contemporary critical rural criminology challenges this myth, revealing the stark realities of rural crime and victimization.

Furthermore, there is a tendency for researchers and responders to categorize victims of hate crime into broad identity groups, a one-size-fits-all approach which fails to engage with and ignores the intersectionality of victim experiences and the disparities experienced within groups. As Hardy and Chakraborti (2020) point out, the intersectional and nuanced nature of hate-based victimization must be acknowledged, whereby rurality adds another dimension to the web of interrelated factors that exacerbate victim experiences.

Realities of rural hate-based victimization

Rural hate crime occurs as a process, not as an isolated event (see Garland and Chakraborti, 2006), and ranges from ‘low-level’ every-day acts (such as verbal abuse, micro-aggressions, symbolic violence and discrimination) to ‘high-level’, novel and horrific offences (such as extreme acts of violence and brutality). Hate crimes are generally under-reported and under-researched, and with so little research specifically focused on rural hate crime, its precise nature and prevalence remains unknown. However, rural hate crime is purported to be far more pervasive and omnipresent than is officially recorded.

The impact of hate crime on victims, in rural or urban settings, is significant.