Canada

Toronto Hate Crimes Report: Jews are the most targeted group, anti-Asian incidents rise

The number of hate crimes in Toronto reported to police rose again in 2021, a year that saw the Jewish community as the most targeted group and a significant increase in anti-Asian incidents.

According to the Toronto Police Annual Statistics on Hate Crimes, which will be presented to the Police Board next week, there were 257 hate-related incidents last year, up from 210 in 2020 and well above the 10-year average of 167 cases. .

“These increases are thought to be due to international and geopolitical developments, including the COVID-19 pandemic,” the service said in a statement.

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 hateful incidents were members of the Jewish, black, East and Southeast Asian communities and the LGBTQ2S + communities.

Police said the misuse of property (111 cases), which involved vandalism, was the most important hate crime, followed by assault (86) and threats (31).

According to the report, hate attacks have increased from 24% in 2020 to 33% in 2021. Nearly half of the attacks are motivated by national or ethnic origin. Police said the cases involved a suspect targeting a victim based on their perceived cultural traditions or their presumed country of origin.

“The number of reported hate crimes targeting individuals based on ethnic or national origin was higher in 2021 than in any previous year since the Toronto Police Department began collecting this data in 1993.” , the report notes.

Police said communities in East and Southeast Asia were the most targeted in that category.

They added that they noticed an increase in anti-Asian hatred in March when a shooting occurred at a spa in Atlanta. The incident killed eight people – six of them Asian women.

Police said hate crimes against communities in East and Southeast Asia rose from seven percent in 2020 to 16 percent last year.

“In all these cases of assault, the victims were the subject of humiliating comments and were beaten, pushed or spat upon by the suspect (s) during the assault,” the police report said.

They added that in four of the anti-Asian incidents, the suspect blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police, meanwhile, said 56 of the 75 religious-motivated hate crimes targeted Jews, while 14 targeted Muslims.

Michael Mostin, chief executive of B’nai Brith Canada, said police figures were worrying.

“This is something that is of great concern to the Jewish community,” Mostin said.

“The increase in violence against the Jewish community last year is something that really shook our community in Toronto and across the country.

Bernie Farber, chairman 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 since time immemorial. And when hate crime in general is on the rise, Jews are unfortunately at the top of that list. This affects people personally. This is a terrible situation for all members of the Jewish community, “Farber said.

He noted that nothing significant was being done to combat the rise of anti-Semitism and other hate-motivated incidents.

“This was probably the most difficult period in the last three or four years. And certainly social media has provided a platform for people with hatred in their hearts to really deliver their message and for those who are willing to take matters into their own hands to act physically, “Farber said.

Nigel Barif of the Urban Alliance on Race said there should be a plan to deal with these incidents.

“We don’t have a system that actually encourages more reporting. And then even when people are reporting, we don’t really have a system that takes us seriously and charges us, and that we hold these perpetrators of this hatred accountable, “he said.” We need real resources to deal with with this.”