The number of hate crimes in Toronto reported to the police increased again in 2021, a year in which the Jewish community was the most targeted group and there was a significant increase in incidents against Asians.
According to the Toronto Police Annual Hate Crime Statistical ReportDue to go before the police board next week, there were 257 hate-motivated incidents last year, up from 210 in 2020 and well above the 10-year average of 167 cases.
“These increases are believed to be attributed to international and geopolitical events, including the COVID-19 pandemic,” the service said in its report.
Of the 257 hate incidents, 75 were motivated by religion, 57 by national or ethnic origin, 54 by race and 26 by sexual orientation, according to the report.
He noted that most of the victims of these hate incidents were members of the Jewish, Black, East and Southeast Asian, and LGBTQ2S+ communities.
Police said property damage (111 cases), which includes vandalism, was the top hate crime, followed by assault (86) and making threats (31).
According to the report, hate-motivated attacks increased from 24% in 2020 to 33% in 2021. Nearly half of attacks were motivated by national or ethnic origin. Police said these cases involve a suspect targeting a victim based on her perceived cultural traditions or her perceived country of origin.
“The number of reported hate crimes targeting people because of their ethnic or national origin was higher in 2021 than in any previous year since the Toronto Police Service began collecting this data in 1993,” the report noted.
Police said communities in East and Southeast Asia were the most targeted in that category.
They added that they saw a spike in anti-Asian hatred in March when the Atlanta spa shootings occurred. The incident left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women.
Police said hate crimes against East and Southeast Asian communities rose from seven percent in 2020 to 16 percent last year.
“In all of these assaults, the victims were subjected to derogatory comments and were hit, pushed or spat on by the suspects during the assault,” police said in the report.
They added that in four of the anti-Asian incidents, the suspect blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police, meanwhile, said that 56 of the 75 religiously motivated hate crimes targeted Jews, while 14 of them targeted Muslims.
Michael Mostyn, executive director of B’nai Brith Canada, said the police data is disturbing.
“This is something that is of great concern to the Jewish community,” Mostyn said.
“The increase in violence against the Jewish community in the past year is something that has really shaken our community in Toronto and across the country.”
Bernie Farber, president of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, was not surprised by the data.
“Hate crimes against Jews are nothing new, sad to say. Anti-Semitism has been with us literally since time immemorial. And when hate crimes generally rise, Jews are sadly at the top of that list. It affects people personally. It’s a terrifying situation for everyone in the Jewish community,” Farber said.
He noted that nothing significant is being done to combat the rise in anti-Semitism and other hate-motivated incidents.
“This has probably been the most difficult moment in the last three or four years. And certainly, social media has provided the platform for people with hate in their hearts to get their message across and for those who are inclined to take matters into their own hands. her hands”. own hands to act physically,” Farber said.
Nigel Barriffe of the Urban Alliance on Race said there needs to be a plan to address these incidents.
“We don’t have a system that really encourages more reporting. And then even when people do report, we don’t really have a system where it’s taken seriously and charges are brought, and we hold these perpetrators of this hate accountable,” he said. “We need the real resources to deal with this.”
Reference-www.cp24.com