Hate crimes occurring in these environments may threaten the victim's sense of safety in the workplace and schools and in turn may effect work and school performance resulting in lower performance and greater absenteeism. Additionally morale of all employees may be negatively impacted. Loss of financial revenue for businesses. People who are depressed tend to isolate themselves socially and not interact with others, thus victims of hate crimes who experience depression may be less likely to frequent commercial establishments such as restaurants and stores and less likely to spend money at these establishments. The Potential Social Impact Hate crimes are not only an attack on the individual but also an attack on that individual's community.
Hate crimes serve to threaten and intimidate entire communities.
This fear may result in an increased sense of vulnerability among community members. This heightened sense of fear plays a role in hate crimes reporting. One of the reasons for this lack of reporting may be a perception or concern that police agencies are biased against the group to which the victim belongs, and police authorities will not be responsive to the incident. Therefore, hate crime legislation that expands the jurisdiction and resources for appropriate prosecution is essential. The American Psychological Association supports the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and urges the Committee to vote it out of Committee and take a leadership role on the Senate floor.