Direct victims of hate crimes are those people who actually possess the characteristic by which the perpetrator was motivated to commit a hate crime and against whom the crime was directed.
When the perpetrator chooses the victim due to a characteristic which the victim actually possesses and carries out the crime against them, the victim is considered to be a direct victim. This is the most common situation in hate crimes. A contrary situation would arise if the perpetrator had mistakenly believed the victim to possess the characteristic, but in truth, the victim did not have it. This is called a mistake in perception.
example A perpetrator who has posted homophobic posts several times on social media sets fire to a same-sex couple’s house door.
Although there is usually one or a small number of victims in such a situation, the victims are usually chosen by what they represent, rather than on a personal basis. It should be noted that hate crimes are committed as a way of sending a message to not only the victim, but also to the larger community to which that victim belongs.
example A person is attacked after leaving mass at a local church. During the attack, the perpetrator shouted slurs directed against the Roman Catholic Church. In this situation, the perpetrator did not choose anyone in particular, but rather chose a random member of the particular community.