Image Credit: Photodynamx / Dreamstime.com

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Hate crimes, bullying will not go away quickly

Mar 12, 2023 | 6:58 AM

A 500-PAGE REPORT THIS WEEK by Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender is a document designed as a pathway to reducing hate-related crime. The report, entitled From Hate to Hope, is a litany of crimes ranging from serious incidents threatening lives and property to crimes against ethnic and religious groups to bullying and trolling on social media.

Govender’s report contains a number of recommendations, the major one being a centralized, all-inclusive reporting system to track incidents and try in some way to deal with the perpetrators.

Govender says there has been a sharp rise in hate crimes during the pandemic. Some of that rise may have been due to fear. When we get frightened, we tend to lash out, but that’s a very simplified answer. Hate crimes jumped 118 per cent from 2019 to 2021 in B.C. That’s big. Hate incidents against Indigenous peoples were up 367 per cent. Because white society is afraid of all the land claims? No idea. But the results are there. Crimes against Asians, Blacks and members of the LBGTQ+ community are all on the rise. And that doesn’t include bullying and online harassment.

Those numbers are probably much lower than the actual numbers, because people are becoming less trusting of people in authority. They’re afraid to call the police because many police officers and, indeed, entire departments are being investigated for their behaviour toward specific groups. Many complaints are just not given the time of day.

I admire Govender’s plan to integrate a cross-platform reporting system to keep track of these incidents and perhaps try to isolate individual perpetrators, but you’ll forgive my skepticism about its potential success. Even for B.C., it’s a massive undertaking, but unless it becomes Canada-wide, I really don’t see it being effective.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Short-term rental rules coming into effect in British Columbia

7h ago

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Board may as well not have asked public about school's name

12h ago

I think Govender’s call for increased across-the-board support services, and increased education in our school system are good starting points, but this problem has been around for many centuries, and it won’t be solved with one report or even in one lifetime.

However, if the report raises awareness of the problem even a little bit, it will be worth the effort, and maybe then we’ll have a ray of hope shine through. It’s going to be a long fight, though, and we’ll have to face a lot of setbacks and disappointments before we see even a speck of brightness through the darkened night.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.