Home > Public Resources > ISTSS Briefing Papers > Briefing Paper: Global Perspectives on the Trauma of Hate-Based Violence Briefing Paper: Global Perspectives on the Trauma of Hate-Based Violence Download the Briefing Paper (PDF) Briefing Paper Working Group Members Bita Ghafoori Ph.D. California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA Yael Caspi Sc.D., M.A., Rambam Medical Health Care Center, Haifa, Israel Carolina Salgado M.D. Universidad Catolica del Maule, Maule, Chile Maureen Allwood Ph.D. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York City, NY, USA Johanna Kreither Ph.D. Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile José Luis Tejada M.D. Centro de Salud Mental y Derechos Humanos (CINTRAS) Tanya Hunt M.S. Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA Lynn C. Waelde Ph.D. Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA Ortal Slobodin Ph.D. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel Mieko Failey, Esq., J.D. LGBTQ Center Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA Porter Gilberg M.S. The LGBTQ Center Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA Paulina Larrondo M.S. Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile Nadia Ramos M.D. Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile Anna von Haumeder B.A. University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany Kevin Nadal Ph.D. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York City, NY, USA We gratefully acknowledge Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel and Director of the Civil Rights Policy Planning Center at the Anti-Defamation League for his thoughtful review of this briefing paper. We also greatly appreciate the input of Dr. Diane Elmore Borbon, Dr. Judith Bass, Dr. Debra Kaysen, Dr. Kathryn M. Magruder, Dr. Elana Newman, Dr. Angela Nickerson, and Autumn Slaughter of the ISTSS Public Health and Policy Committee. In addition, we would like to thank Dr. Julian Ford for his valuable feedback on this document. Suggested Citation: Ghafoori, B., Caspi, Y., Salgado, C., Allwood, M., Kreither, J., Tejada, J.L., Hunt, T., Waelde, L.C., Slobodin, O., Failey, M., Gilberg, P., Larrondo, P., Ramos, N., von Haumeder, A., & Nadal, K. (2019). Global Perspectives on the Trauma of Hate-Based Violence: An International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Briefing Paper. Retrieved from www.istss.org/hate-based-violence Overview There is an urgent need to understand and respond to the health needs of survivors of hate-based violence. Manifestations of prejudice and hate occur all over the world. Hate-based violence is defined as violence against a person that is motivated by bias and prejudice against the person’s perceived group membership (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2013; Green, McFalls, & Smith, 2001; Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, 2010). Group membership might be classified in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, or other personal characteristics. The aim of this briefing paper is to review existing research on the traumatic impact of hate-based violence and the mental health needs of survivors and communities affected by this type of violence. Understanding how hate-based violence can lead to serious and potentially chronic traumatic stress reactions (including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and complex forms of traumatic stress symptoms) can provide a framework for reducing the stigma experienced by survivors and increasing their access to effective treatments. The perspective that traumatic stress reactions and related symptoms may result from experiences of hate-based violence has been proposed by many scholars (e.g. Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2005; Mitchell and Nell, 2017; Scurfield & Mackey, 2001). Hate-based violence may occur in the form of a single potentially traumatic event or multiple traumatic events that are repeated and prolonged. Existing research suggests that hate-based violence is often traumatic for the survivor, the survivor’s community, and society at large. However, direct and systematic research on the traumatic impact of hate-based violence is still very limited and has mostly been carried out in developed countries (Dzelme, 2008).