Summary
What is a Hate Group? - Briefing Note: This briefing note defines hate groups as organisations that attack or malign entire classes of people based on immutable characteristics, and it discusses their activities, monitoring, and criticisms.
What is a Hate Group? – Briefing Note
A hate group is:
An organisation (or collection of individuals) that, based on its official statements, principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities, has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.
These groups often target individuals (or advocating organisations) based on immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
Monitoring organisations like the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC) and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) are crucial in identifying and tracking these groups. Their continuous efforts provide a sense of reassurance, even though their classifications are not without conceptual and practical criticisms. Other organisations that define hate are the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) and the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is specifically involved in hate crimes. At TransLucent, our hate crime lead is Julie Millier, who regularly assists the CPS, Stop Hate Crime (Truevision) and OfCom.
Named SPLC hate groups operating in the UK include the Alliance Defending Freedom, Genspect and Society For Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM). Also named a hate group by GPAHE are the LGB Alliance (Ireland) and LGB Alliance (Australia), marked as “anti-transgender”. To date, GAPHE has not reported on hate groups in the UK.
However, several UK-based organisations meet the specifications of a hate group but are not called as such, invariably because they don’t operate globally.
The activities of hate groups range from the dissemination of hateful propaganda, seeking the removal of human rights, online antagonism to hate speech and, in some instances, the incitement or commission of hate crimes. The internet has amplified these groups’ reach and networking capabilities, enabling them to connect with wider audiences and recruit new members.
Gender-critical organisations with the sole purpose of removing the existing human rights of trans people would invariably qualify as a hate group.
Countermeasures against hate groups include monitoring by non-profit organisations, legal interventions such as hate speech laws, and, most importantly, community-based initiatives. These initiatives, aimed at promoting tolerance and understanding, empower communities to take an active role in the fight against hate groups.
However, the concept of a “hate group” is not without its detractors. Critics, invariably the hate groups themselves, argue that the definition can be arbitrary, that it pathologises certain groups while not others, and that it relies on subjective assessments by private organisations.
Despite these criticisms, the existence and potential impact of hate groups on targeted communities, in particular the trans community and people of colour, remains a significant concern.
What is a Hate Group? – Briefing Note
