Abstract
This article examines the forms and impact of violence against those from alternative subcultures. It draws upon the findings from interviews and focus groups undertaken with over 60 participants from a range of alternative subcultural backgrounds, conducted as part of a broader two-year study of many different strands of targeted victimisation. The article suggests that ‘alternatives’ are subject to a wide range of harassment, from ‘low-level’ abuse such as verbal insults through to more extreme acts of violence. This can affect their physical and mental health, causing them to change the way they conduct their everyday lives. However, the article suggests that some of this victimisation forms part of ongoing conflict with a group that participants describe as ‘chavs’ that has hitherto been unacknowledged by hate crime scholars. This ‘little war’ is characterised by mutual hostility and antipathy flavoured by class antagonism that can escalate into violent confrontation.