Considering Sex/Gender-Based Violence as a Form of Hate: The Invisibility of Sex and Gender

Globally, there is no shortage of examples demonstrating lethal and non-lethal violence motivated, at least in part, by a hatred of women and girls because of their sex or gender. Such violence is not a new phenomenon. Despite this, there remains little consideration of sex/gender-based violence (S/GBV) motivated by hatred in the hate/bias crime literature, including a recent comprehensive review published in this journal. Drawing from a comprehensive scoping review of international literature, this article discusses why this might be the case, identifying both the benefits and challenges of treating sex/gender-motivated violence as a form of hate. The review examined primarily legal- and case-based analyses, grey literature, and some empirically based research articles, both qualitative and quantitative, the latter of which largely had only a peripheral focus on the question posed-the consideration or recognition of sex/gender-motivated hate that leads to violence. Themes surrounding benefits and challenges of doing so were identified. Among the findings was that, while there are valid arguments for and against the inclusion of, or emphasis on, S/GBV as a form of hate, what is largely absent from the body of literature is systematic, empirically based evidence examining the validity of the arguments identified, particularly in recent years. The article concludes by highlighting four broad research and policy priorities which can further (or arguably begin) the conversation about the role of hate in S/GBV.