Understanding Disability-Motivated Hate Crimes: The Role of Disability, Economic Exclusion, and Group Threat Theory

• In Event: Ecological Variation in Hate Crime Offending, Formal Responses, and Group Threat Processes

Abstract

A substantial body of scholarship has utilized theories of group threat to explore the contextual predictors of racially motivated crimes. Much of this research has primarily relied on official police data, which is compromised by underreporting and underrecording. However, relatively limited attention has been given to crimes motivated by disability, a noteworthy omission. Research on disability highlights that the exclusion and discrimination faced by individuals with impairments are deeply embedded in broader societal structures that perpetuate such prejudice. Scholars have also argued that disability has historically been conceptualized as a harmful condition, positioning individuals with disabilities as responsible for economic and social challenges. This research seeks to address this gap by examining the main effects and intersections between contextual and individual characteristics—specifically the percentage of individuals who are disabled, being disabled, and being unemployed—in predicting the risk of victimization motivated by disability. In doing so, we extend previous scholarship by utilizing a restricted version of the 2005-2015 National Crime Victimization Survey. The results underscore the importance of disability and threat theory in predicting hate crime victimization based on disability, while also highlighting the role of economic exclusion, particularly in areas with higher percentage of individuals who are disabled.

Authors

• Christopher Cassity, Florida State University

• Sylwia Janina Piatkowska, Florida State University

• Brendan Lantz, Florida State University