There is currently no universal definition of hate speech under international human rights law. The concept remains under discussion, particularly concerning freedom of opinion and expression, non-discrimination, and equality.
In common usage, “hate speech” refers to offensive discourse that targets a group or individual based on inherent characteristics such as race, religion, nationality, or gender, posing a potential threat to social harmony.
Hate speech is often discriminatory, exhibiting bias, bigotry, or intolerance, and can display prejudice, contempt, or disdain towards an individual or group.
Hate speech targets both real and perceived identity factors, including religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, and gender. It also includes characteristics such as language, economic or social origin, disability, health status, sexual orientation, and many others.
This type of speech can be conveyed through various forms of expression, including images, cartoons, memes, objects, gestures, and symbols, and can spread both offline and online.
The ERASMUS+ project “Report Hate” with partner organizations from
aims to give young people the opportunity to take action against hate speech.
To this end, we have developed the first transnational hate speech reporting portal specifically for young people and are promoting it with a broad-based social media campaign.
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