By Emily Kim Jenkins, Contributing Writer
After one year of operations, the California vs. Hate hotline has seen success in reaching the majority of the state, receiving contact from nearly 80 percent of counties in the state. The California Civil Rights Department reports being contacted over 2 thousand times. 86 of these cases were from San Diego County.
The non-emergency hotline, 833-8-NO-HATE, was launched by the California Civil Rights Department in May of 2023. It’s “an alternative to law enforcement,” Tuyen Nguyen said, Stop the Hate lead at Catalyst said at the Voice & Viewpoint’s Hate & Communities of Color Town Hall, which allows people to report or inquire about acts of hate to receive resources or learn about their reporting options, should it be determined that a hate crime occurred. The hotline is available in 200 different languages.
Of the 2,118 calls, nearly half ended up as reports of hate. California vs. Hate says that, of a subset of these contacts examined, the majority of them were based on race or ethnicity. 26.8 percent of the race-based reports were anti-Black, followed by 15.4 percent anti-Latino and 14.3 percent anti-Asian. There were also significant amounts of reports based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The most common act of hate reported, regardless of motivation, was discriminatory treatment.
“When California was confronted by an alarming increase in hate, we didn’t just sit back and hope it got better,” California Civil Rights Director Kevin Kish said. “With California vs. Hate, we’re doing our part to ensure that when people report they get support.”
Acts of hate have long been considered under-reported. Whether it is a fear of retaliation at work or school, a language barrier or distrust of law enforcement, there are innumerable factors that may influence one’s decision to report when they feel they may have experienced something hate related. The California vs. Hate hotline is designed to offer resources to a caller regardless if a crime was committed, but ultimately hopes to encourage people to speak up even if they’re unsure if they’ve experienced hate.
“It’s absolutely correct that, unfortunately, the primary number of hate crimes last year– and it has been consistent– is [against] the Black or African American community. That’s predominantly where the hate crimes have been in our community in terms of stats and numbers,” said San Diego Deputy District Attorney Leon Schorr at the Voice & Viewpoint’s Law Enforcement Town Hall. “Don’t think that you need to decide whether or not it is a hate crime or a hate incident. If it’s anywhere close, if you’re thinking this might be a hate crime or a hate incident, that’s enough! You’ve made that decision and you should be reporting, we want to hear.”
While data was not immediately available about specific motivations behind the reports in San Diego County, hate crimes continue to be a problem. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office reports having handled five hate crime cases in 2024, two of which had Black victims, although no cases with anti-Black motivation have been reported this year. Anti-Black hate crimes still remain the highest reported hate crime motivation by a large margin since 2017.
If you are concerned you may have witnessed or experienced an act of hate, there are resources available to help you legally and emotionally. You can call 833-8-NO-HATE (833- 866-4283) to get information about and connect to these resources, or you can report directly to your local law enforcement agency. You are not alone.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
