People all over the world are questioning how those in positions of power can counter the kinds of extreme views that are increasingly being aired, and how societies might do more to prevent such opinions from gestating in the first place. These are huge questions with no straightforward answers. For many people in the UK, the scenes in Charlottesville last weekend may appear to be of scant relevance to their own lives. Even Thursday’s horrific events in Barcelona may feel somewhat distant.

But we should remember that there is a less visible frontline which is easily accessible to those in the UK who hold extreme views on race, religion, sexuality, gender and even disability. I refer to the online world where an increasing proportion of hate crime is now perpetrated. And this is why the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today commits to treat online hate crimes as seriously as those committed face to face.

Some may criticise the new approach and guidance for prosecutors as heavy-handed. But we must remember the common thread that links online purveyors of hate with those who commit physical hate crimes. That is, the desire to undermine and instil fear in those they target, both individually and collectively. The definition of hate crime, recognised by the CPS and police, is “any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice” towards the personal characteristics mentioned above. Of course, different types of offences have differing consequences and, as online abuse by its nature cannot cause direct physical harm to a victim, it can never be considered or sentenced in the same way. But we know online hate crime has devastating effects.

Hate crime is not only damaging for individuals but also for society, where it sows seeds of division and intolerance

There are crucial provisions in law to ensure we do not stifle free speech, an important right in our society. Hate is hate, however, and, with more than 15,000 hate crime prosecutions in 2015-16, prosecutors are now increasingly able to persuade courts that stiffer “uplifted” sentences are warranted. This year’s hate crime report, when published later this year, will show for the first time that the CPS achieved sentence uplifts in more than half of such cases. From the aristocrat who was found to have been motivated by racial hostility in his abuse of anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, to the two young males who savagely attacked a transgender man in Aylesbury and were jailed in April, we are now seeing hundreds of sentences increased each month.

When an ever greater amount of our time is spent online, it is only right that we do everything possible to ensure that people are protected from abuse that can now follow them everywhere via the screen of their smartphone or tablet. Whether shouted in their face on the street, daubed on a wall or tweeted into their living room, hateful abuse can have a devastating impact on victims.

The sad fact is that some groups in society still believe that such abuse is part of everyday life. Police statistics show that religiously motivated hate crimes increased fivefold in Manchester in the weeks after May’s attack, while hate crimes against Muslims tripled in London in the week of that atrocity and then almost doubled again in the week after the June attack at London Bridge. Home Office figures, meanwhile, show a 20% rise in reports to police, covering all forms of hate crime, during the first quarter of this year.

My message to victims is that the CPS, police and others in the criminal justice system are ready to listen and, where we have the evidence, to hold those committing hate crimes to account. Victims should not suffer in silence and, as our new guidance makes clear, victims can be supported at all stages of the criminal justice process. Whether you are a gay man who fears being “outed” in court, a Jewish woman intimidated at the prospect of facing her abuser once more, or a disabled person who doubts they will be believed, you will have more support and protection than ever before.

Hate crime of any form is not only damaging for individuals but also for society as a whole, where it sows seeds of division and intolerance. Left unchallenged, even low-level offending can subsequently fuel the kind of dangerous hostility that has been plastered across our media in recent days. That is why countering it is vital for society and a priority for the CPS.

• Alison Saunders is the director of public prosecutions