Few so-called ‘hate crime’ offenders truly hate their victims. Arguably, too, many such offenders do not foresee the depth of hurt their crimes can inflict. Recognising that many acts of ‘hate crime’ are rather more complex than offenders simply venting ‘hate’ to inflict deep hurts opens-up the potential for working with offenders to enable them to appreciate the impacts and consequences of their actions and possibly prevent future offending. This essay offers two case studies from evaluations of projects in the north west of England to illustrate how understanding about the hurts of ‘hate crime’ can be used in working with offenders and potential offenders on the principle that if empathy for the victim can be engendered then those who do not truly ‘hate’ might think twice before acting in the future, or acting again in the way they had done so before.