NCJ Number
204394
Journal
Journal of Social Issues Volume: 58 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 2002 Pages: 265-280
Date Published
2002
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study conducted field observations and in-depth interviews to examine the impact of hate speech in public places on the targets of such speech, namely, women and racial minorities.
Abstract
The 100 respondents who participated in the study represented the racial compositions of the areas in which they were recruited, which were racially and economically diverse. The data were obtained from six closed-ended and four open-ended questions as part of a larger interview schedule. The closed-ended questions focused on the frequency with which respondents heard polite comments about their appearance from strangers in public places; the frequency of hearing offensive or sexually suggestive remarks from strangers in public places; the frequency of comments about respondent's race from strangers in public places; and the frequency of comments about respondent's race considered offensive or threatening from strangers in public places. Participants in the nontarget groups were asked to answer these questions from the perspective of hearing comments about the target groups. Open-ended questions pertained to the circumstances of each interaction, including the characteristics of the speaker, the location of the event, how the target felt, how the target responded if at all, and whether the target recounted the event to anyone after it occurred. In focusing on racist and sexist hate speech as participants defined the phenomenon from their own perspective, this study found a range of experiences with hate speech among the target groups, with many of their experiences being subtle, such that all but the victims were unaware that the target perceived it as hate speech. According to the targets, hate speech toward them occurred frequently, leaving them harmed in significant ways. Fear was the most commonly reported reaction by women to sexually suggestive speech from strangers in public places. One-third of women reported such feelings. Still more women reported feeling "intimidated" or "threatened." Nearly half of the women reported ignoring offensive public speech because of fear. Racist or race-related speech was heard by targets in public places with regularity. Relatively small percentages of the targets reported feeling afraid, angry, or sad. Most practiced avoidance, i.e., ignoring the comment and leaving the situation as quickly as possible. Such interactions continually caused targets to reflect upon their subordinate social status. Whether the harms caused to target groups are sufficient to justify the legal regulation of offending speech is a significant issue and merits examination. 1 table and 22 references