Developing Community-Based Responses to Addressing Hate in Alberta


Landon Turlock, Coalitions Creating Equity

Reports of hate crimes in Canada increased by 72% from 2019 to 2021 (Moreau, 2022). Hate crimes have significant negative impacts on both those directly impacted and members of targeted communities (Erentzen and Schuller, 2020). Canadian research primarily focuses on the effects of hate crimes and their underreporting. However, there is little understanding of survivors experiences when they report a hate crime or incident, and how organizations respond to these reports. Further, there are not easily accessible training opportunities for organizations and community members to develop capacity to support survivors of hate crimes and incidents. This presentation will discuss how community-based participatory research, engagement, and public education have been used to strengthen community capacity in Alberta to respond to hate crimes and incidents. In 2022, Coalitions Creating Equity Edmonton (CCEE) used a trauma-informed Community-Based Participatory Research approach to answer three research questions: What are the experiences of people who report hate crimes and/or incidents to organizations in Edmonton? How do individuals who have reported hate crimes and/or incidents experience organizational responses to these reports? What are the policy and practice implications of these experiences for organizations that respond to hate crimes and/or incidents? The study resulted in three key findings: Firstly, how organizations respond to reports of hate crimes and incidents does not reliably meet the needs of people victimized by these occurrences and can significantly impact survivors. Secondly, understandings and experiences of hate crimes and incidents and how organizations respond to them are based in lived experiences of historical and ongoing systemic and societal discrimination. Thirdly, interpersonal relationships, existing knowledge and beliefs, and previous experiences influence the series of choices involved in reporting a hate crime or incident. This presentation will provide strategies for how community-based approach to research, advocacy and public education can be used to strengthen approaches to addressing hate crimes and incidents, such as collaboration and relationship building; using a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive approach; and creative, multi-faceted knowledge mobilization tactics.

Non-presenting authors: Irfan Chaudhry, MacEwan University; Sunpreet Johal, StopHateAB (formerly the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee)

This paper will be presented at the following session: