Paul Iganski

Despite the widespread belief that freedom of speech is a fundamental right in Western liberal democracies, many criminal prosecutions take place each year because of things ordinary people say in public places or on social media. Until now, this widespread criminalisation of everyday discourse has largely escaped scrutiny. Written by a leading expert on hate crime, this topical book highlights the extent to which people are punished for uttering 'vile words'. The book examines the justification for verbally-expressed bigotry being criminalised through the courts as hate crime and proposes an evidence-based 'red line' focusing on the harmful impact of such speech.

Despite the widespread belief that freedom of speech is a fundamental right in Western liberal democracies, many criminal prosecutions take place each year because of things ordinary people say in public places or on social media. Until now, this widespread criminalisation of everyday discourse has largely escaped scrutiny. Written by a leading expert on hate crime, this topical book highlights the extent to which people are punished for uttering 'vile words'. The book examines the justification for verbally-expressed bigotry being criminalised through the courts as hate crime and proposes an evidence-based 'red line' focusing on the harmful impact of such speech.

This title was first published in 2002: Numerous reports have identified the serious problems of under-representation of, and discrimination against, minority ethnic groups in the British NHS. It is widely argued that this both raises issues of social justice and undermines the quality of service to minority ethnic patients. Nowhere are these problems more acute than among the largest occupational group in the NHS - nurses. This book reports the results of research carried out for the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting to evaluate NHS equal opportunities policy. Drawing on additional original research involving interviews with key policy actors, this fascinating book examines the prospects for a national strategy linking the business and justice cases for the delivery of greater equity in employment and service delivery.

This title was first published in 2002: Numerous reports have identified the serious problems of under-representation of, and discrimination against, minority ethnic groups in the British NHS. It is widely argued that this both raises issues of social justice and undermines the quality of service to minority ethnic patients. Nowhere are these problems more acute than among the largest occupational group in the NHS - nurses. This book reports the results of research carried out for the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting to evaluate NHS equal opportunities policy. Drawing on additional original research involving interviews with key policy actors, this fascinating book examines the prospects for a national strategy linking the business and justice cases for the delivery of greater equity in employment and service delivery.

This short, accessible text takes on the global and pervasive phenomenon of hate crimes and hypothesizes potential fixes. Iganski and Levin detail evidence of hate violence in the 21st century, particularly religious hatred, ethnic, racial and xenophobic hatred, violence on the basis of sexual orientation and sexual identity, disablist violence, and violence against women, using the most recently published data from cross-national surveys produced by international organizations. This is an ideal addition to any course on social problems, violence, or hate crimes.

This short, accessible text takes on the global and pervasive phenomenon of hate crimes and hypothesizes potential fixes. Iganski and Levin detail evidence of hate violence in the 21st century, particularly religious hatred, ethnic, racial and xenophobic hatred, violence on the basis of sexual orientation and sexual identity, disablist violence, and violence against women, using the most recently published data from cross-national surveys produced by international organizations. This is an ideal addition to any course on social problems, violence, or hate crimes.

The impression often conveyed by the media about hate crime offenders is that they are hate-fuelled individuals who, in acting out their extremely bigoted views, target their victims in premeditated violent attacks. Scholarly research on the perpetrators of hate crime has begun to provide a more nuanced picture. But the preoccupation of researchers with convicted offenders neglects the vast majority of hate crime offenders that do not come into contact with the criminal justice system. This book, from a leading author in the field, widens understanding of hate crime by demonstrating that many offenders are ordinary people who offend in the context of their everyday lives. Written in a lively and accessible style, the book takes a victim-centred approach to explore and analyse hate crime as a social problem, providing an empirically informed and scholarly perspective. Aimed at academics and students of criminology, sociology and socio-legal studies, the book draws out the connections between the individual agency of offenders and the background structural context for their actions. It adds a new dimension to the debate about criminalising hate in light of concerns about the rise of punitive and expressive justice, scrutinizing the balance struck by hate crime laws between the rights of offenders and the rights of victims.