Injury resulting from targeted violence: An emergency department perspective.

Background: Hate crimes - those perpetrated because of perceived difference, including disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender status - have not been studied at the point of the victim's hospital emergency department (ED) use.

Aim: To investigate the frequency, levels of physical harm and circumstances of targeted violence in those seeking treatment at EDs in three UK cities.

Method: In a multimethods study, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 124 adult ED attenders with violent injuries.