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Civil Society and Academia Collaboration in the Area of Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Crime

CIVIL SOCIETY & ACADEMIA COLLABORATION IN THE AREA OF ANTI-LGBTQ+ HATE CRIME

The world today seems to be at the verge of a new era. A rampaging war in Europe, dividing populist rulers across the globe, and a long-lasting health crisis appear as symptoms of profound change that has been predicted by philosophers and social scientists for decades of theorising the ‘post-modern’. What will happen with our established institutions in this new coming era? Will there remain democracy and human rights? How will civil society transform? These questions are not theoretical anymore but practical. Political cynicism and greed, hunger for power and reprehensible self-interest damaged the fragile fabric of human cohabitation locally, regionally and world-wide. This situation is leading to the increase of violence, especially the violence targeted at the most marginalised groups in our societies.

On 24-25 May 2023 we organise a workshop to start the conversation about anti-LGBTQ violence in the new circumstances of political turmoil. The primary aim of the workshop is to identify, share and uphold the best practices in the sphere of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime activism, research and legislation. We invite you to contribute with your perspective to eventually come up with innovative solutions in the area of protections from hate crime and from biased violence more generally. Our workshop is intended to be built around the following four large themes of interest:

1. Record and Report Hate

  • What is the current situation with anti-LGBTQ+ violence?
  • How do we know about the current situation? Are our record tools adequate?
  • What are persistent obstacles to reporting incidents of violence motivated by hatred? For example, does hate crime reporting account for intersectionality?

2. Legal Response: the best legislation ideas

  • How well hate crime law protects LGBTQ+ people from violence in the EU?
  • What alternative solutions are there to combat anti-LGBTQ+ violence?
  • Does Irish law adequately protect the vulnerable from crime?

3. Enforcement and Practices: civil society and the law

  • What are the new challenges for law enforcement in the digital age?
  • How does a hate crime case progress from a report to a verdict?
  • How can political hate speech be called out?
  • Are there alternatives to the police response to violence?

4. Disseminate Know-Hows: how art and literature help prevent violence

  • What is the place of art in the hate crime discourse?
  • Is speaking of violence always an aestheticization of violence?
  • Why does knowing of hate crime matters?

The list of the themes is not exhaustive and can be updated with your contributions and perspectives. If you want to participate in the discussions, please consider applying and take part in the workshop. Possible modes of participation are: a report (15-20 minutes), an expert intervention (contribution to a panel discussion answering questions), or questions and commentary (active participation as an audience member).

Please get in touch with the organisers if you’d like to take part:

The workshop is supported by the Irish Research Council New Foundations Award.

UCD School of Sociology

Newman Building (Room D401), University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 8263