Bias Report Form
A bias incident is defined as a behavior or act—verbal, written, or physical—that is personally directed against or targets an individual or group based on perceived or actual characteristics such as age, citizenship, color, creed, disabilities, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, immigrant status, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, use of service animal, veteran/military status, and other aspects of an individual or group’s identity which includes but are not limited to physical appearance, homelessness status, or political views. A bias act demeans, intimidates, and/or threatens individuals, members of the group, and the community.
Incidents that may constitute a bias incident, include but are not limited to, intimidating or threatening telephone calls, emails (including U.S. and campus mail), texts, social media platforms, harassment, graffiti, bullying, threats, vandalism, damage or destruction of property, or the use of oral or written expression of bias involving degrading language or stereotypes, if there is evidence that the target or victim was chosen because of a characteristic such as those listed above.
Hate crimes are a subset of bias incidents that constitute a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. All hate crimes are bias incidents, but not all bias incidents are classified as hate crimes.