Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Initiative

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has launched a comprehensive national initiative to prevent youth hate crimes and identity-based bullying. Operating from a youth-based lens that focuses on prevention and early intervention, OJJDP is taking a multipronged approach through this initiative to:

• Increase awareness of youth hate crimes and bias-based bullying.
• Identify best practices and evidence-based strategies to build protective factors in youth and help youth resist and disengage from extremist hate groups.
• Ensure youth have a voice on the topic of hate crime and an opportunity for partners to work meaningfully with and for young people.
• Provide grantees, interested communities, and the field at large tools to change the attitude and behavior of young hate-crime offenders and at-risk youth.

This initiative kicked off October 27, 2021, with a 2-day virtual symposium. It is followed by a series of 13 webinars. The initiative includes national youth roundtables, the development of a youth hate crime prevention curriculum, and a synthesis of findings in a special report and an associated fact sheet.

Understanding and Preventing Youth Hate Crimes and Identity-Based Bullying was a national symposium on preventing and combating identity-based bullying and criminal extremist hate groups as they impact our nation’s youth.

This virtual symposium addressed important topics such as current trends and research on identity-based bullying, cyberbullying, youth-related hate crimes, and how hate groups use social media and technology to reach, recruit, and radicalize youth. Panel discussions provided programs, best practices, and evidence-based strategies on how schools, families, law enforcement, and communities can work together to build protective factors in youth and help youth resist and disengage from extremist hate groups.

Access resources from the October 2021 symposium:

• Full Agenda
• Presenter Biographies

View the recordings:

This 13-webinar series provides juvenile justice professionals, law enforcement, and school communities an understanding of youth hate crimes and hate groups along with strategies to prevent hate crimes and mitigate microaggressions and implicit bias. Additional content will be tailored to the series’ three audience cohorts:

• Juvenile justice professionals (juvenile justice specialists, juvenile court personnel, and juvenile probation officers)
• Law enforcement professionals
• School communities (administrators, teachers, school resource officers, school social workers, community youth workers, and parents)

Previously Held Webinars in the series:

OJJDP recognizes the importance of partnering with young people and ensuring that they are not only heard but understood, engaged, empowered, and supported to help lead efforts to identify, intervene, and prevent hate crime in our communities.

As such, OJJDP convened a series of roundtable discussions with youth to provide youth a voice on the topic of hate crime, identity-based bullying, and radicalization of youth by hate groups. These events provided an opportunity for OJJDP and our partner organizations to work meaningfully with and for young people. Youth engaged in various activities during each 2-hour roundtable, and their input will play a critical role in the development of resources, including a Special Report, Fact Sheet, and Curriculum.

OJJDP traveled to California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Texas to hold these roundtable sessions with youth.

This multi-phased curriculum is intended for grantees, interested communities, and the field at large to use with middle and high school age youth, including youth in the juvenile justice system and those at risk for involvement.

The goal of the curriculum is to build protective factors in youth, change the attitude and behavior of the young hate crime offender, and help individuals working with these youth to better understand the potential of advanced communications technologies to break down cultural barriers and address bias.

The curriculum will be informed by the discussions and insights received from youth during the initiative’s youth roundtables.

Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Fact Sheet

OJJDP has published a one-page fact sheet summarizing key takeaways and resources from the Initiative. The fact sheet highlights the initiative’s comprehensive preventing youth hate crimes literature review, 2-day virtual symposium, 13-part webinar series, and 19 youth roundtable discussions. The fact sheet also provides an overview of the bullying prevention curriculum OJJDP has developed for the field, elevates important statistics on hate crimes and the prevalence of identity-based bullying, and includes links to related resources on OJJDP’s website. OJJDP will provide an in-depth look at the work summarized in the fact sheet in the forthcoming special report on the initiative.

NEW Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Fact Sheet

Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Special Report

This forthcoming special report will provide a synthesis of findings from national youth roundtables and OJJDP’s comprehensive literature review, as part of OJJDP’s national initiative to prevent youth hate crimes and identity-based bullying. The report will examine the scope of youth hate crimes and hate groups and will explore the prevalence of identity-based bullying. The report also will examine current law enforcement and community partner efforts to prevent and respond to youth hate crimes and hate groups and will identify actionable recommendations for prevention and early intervention. The special report will be informed by key takeaways from the youth roundtables.

The special report will be posted on OJJDP’s website once available.

Access resources related to understanding and preventing hate crimes and identity-based bullying.

• Blog: Building Support for Asian American Youth through the Pandemic and Beyond
• Bureau of Justice Assistance: Hate Crimes
• Bureau of Justice Statistics: Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement, 2010-2019
• Bureau of Justice Statistics: Hate Crime Victimization, 2005-2019
• FBI Releases Updated 2020 Hate Crime Statistics 
• Justice.gov: Hate Crimes
• Model Programs Guide Literature Review: Hate Crimes and Youth
• Model Programs Guide: Bullying Programs
• Model Programs Guide: Positive Youth Development Programs
• Office of Justice Programs Fact Sheet: Research, Programs, and Initiatives that Address Hate Crimes
• Office for Victims of Crime: Hate Crimes
• Preventing Youth Hate Crimes and Identity-Based Bullying Justice.gov Spotlight
• Statistical Briefing Book: Racial and Ethnic Fairness FAQs
• StopBullying.gov