PUBLICATION ADVISORY

National Institute of Justice Studies Impact of Bias Crimes on Latino Victims

      WASHINGTON – The Office of Justice Programs’ National Institute of Justice today published an article describing two NIJ-supported studies that examine the impacts of bias victimization, including hate crimes, harassment and threats, across Latino populations. Both studies underscored the significant negative mental health consequences of experiencing bias-motivated incidents based on ethnicity or national origin.

      Research on bias-based and other forms of victimization of Latino populations in the United States is helping justice and victim support agencies better understand the nature, patterns and impact of victimization. The researchers’ data suggest that anti-immigrant sentiment, a driver of Latino victimization, has continued to worsen. A key policy implication of the research is the importance of finding new ways to decrease that sentiment within the general population. The research also suggests that Latinos may fear engaging with police and other formal institutions due to their personal or vicarious experience with bias victimization, including discrimination, by those institutions.

      The research described in this article was supported by NIJ funding to Northeastern University. This article is based on the grantee reports “Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization Against Latinos” (October 2019) by C. Cuevas, A. Farrell, J. McDevitt, S. Zhang, J. Temple, J. Robles, and S. Lockwood, and “Longitudinal Examination of Victimization Experiences of Latinos: Extending the Bias Victimization Study” (March 2021), by the authors identified above and C. Sabina.

      TITLE:  Experiences of Victimization Among Latinos: Studies Confirm Significant
                    Victim Mental Health Impact and Mistrust of Authorities

      AUTHOR:  National Institute of Justice

      HERE:  https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/experiences-victimization-among-latinos-studies-confirm-significant-victim-mental

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      The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

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OFFICE:  nij.ojp.gov
CONTACT:  Sheila Jerusalem at 202-598-0793 or Sheila.Jerusalem@ojp.usdoj.gov