Hate Crimes Against Refugees

Abstract

This dissertation examines public hostility toward migrants and refugees in the United Kingdom through a document-based analysis of research reports, policy papers, and academic literature. The study focuses on how hostility is shaped, reproduced, and understood within public discourse, government policy, and wider social attitudes, particularly in the period following the Brexit referendum. Rather than collecting primary data, the dissertation draws on secondary documentary material to explore how migration debates are framed, and how these narratives relate to experiences of marginalization, exclusion, and vulnerability among migrant communities. The research highlights that hostility toward migrants cannot be understood as a single or uniform phenomenon. Instead, it is influenced by intersecting factors such as media representation, political rhetoric, social norms, and structural inequalities. The analysis suggests that public discourse often simplifies or generalises migrant experiences, while at the same time reinforcing boundaries around belonging, identity, and national security. The study also reflects on how hostile narratives may contribute to normalising discriminatory attitudes and practices within everyday social contexts. While the dissertation is limited by its reliance on document analysis and the absence of lived participant perspectives, it nonetheless provides an opportunity to critically reflect on how migration, hostility, and social attitudes are constructed at policy and societal levels. The findings encourage further research that places greater emphasis on the voices and experiences of migrants themselves, and on how hostility is encountered and negotiated in daily life.