Legislatures worldwide experience the same problem in
drafting or amending hate crimes statutes: How is it possible to discriminate
between victim groups, and which groups are worthy of legislative protection?
This article explores some of the experiences of legislatures, highlighting the
political inconsistencies which go on to shape the legal system. It focusses on
the experience of a number of common law jurisdictions, and seeks to establish
a normative platform from which hate crimes statutes can be based, drawing on
the legislative experiences of the United States. This platform draws on two
other areas of law, particularly the criminal defence of provocation and
equality legislation, and shows that the determination of victim groups for
hate crimes legislation need not be the politically charged, discriminatory,
and exclusionary process that it is today.